Died 1967
Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, was born in the Northern Region’s capital of Kaduna to Igbo parents. He was an infantry and intelligence officer of the Nigerian Army. He attended the military academy at Sandhurst in England, and was a promising military officer who eventually became the Chief Instructor at the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna.
In the early hours of January 15, 1966, citing a long list of complaints against the political class, Nzeogwu led a group of majors in a military coup against the Nigerian First Republic. The Prime Minister, a federal minister, two regional premiers, along with top Army officers were executed. The coup unfortunately failed and he was arrested after arriving in Lagos on January 18, 1966. He was initially detained at Kirikiri maximum security prison but then transferred to the East. He was released from jail by Lt. Col.Emeka Ojukwu at the end of the first quarter of 1967 following demonstrations by students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
In 1967, Nzeogwu was trapped and killed in an ambush near Nsukka while conducting a night reconnaissance operation against federal troops during the Biafra War. He was buried with full military honours at the military cemetery in Kaduna.
Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu place in Nigerian history is assured.
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