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Fifty years after the assassination of former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, fresh memories have resurfaced through the emotional recollection of his former orderly, Michael Otuwe (retd.), who witnessed the failed 1976 coup firsthand.
In a rare interview conducted a decade ago and now revisited to mark the anniversary, the retired soldier recounts how the charismatic leader almost escaped his attackers, his experiences during the civil war, and the personal sacrifices that defined years of close service to one of Nigeria’s most revered military figures.
Recalling his journey into the military during the interview with Daily Trust, Otuwe narrated, “I am an Igala man from Olamoboro Local Government of Kogi State. I attended Ankpa Primary School and Ankpa Model Secondary School before I joined the profession I cherished most, the army.”
According to him, he enlisted in the Nigerian Army on September 11, 1967, at the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos, where he underwent six months of training on the eve of the Nigerian Civil War.
“After the training I was posted to the Nigerian Army Signal Corps and incidentally, Murtala Ramat Mohammed was a Colonel then and the Inspector of Signals,” he added.
Otuwe said Muhammed personally chose him because of his discipline and neatness.
“He told me that he noticed how immaculate I was in my army dress when we do master parade. He picked me to be his orderly when I was a Lance Corporal,” he said.
He explained that he served closely with Muhammed through various postings, including during the civil war when the late General became the first General Officer Commanding of the Second Division of the Nigerian Army.
“I worked with him till he was killed, and that was 11 years,” Otuwe said, noting that during the period the General had three children, Aisha, Zakari and Fatima.
Otuwe described Muhammed as a strategic and disciplined military commander.
“He was an organiser of men and their welfare. He was smart and hardworking and thought of Nigeria first before anything,” he said.
He recalled an incident when Biafran soldiers encircled them.
“He did a wonderful tactical manoeuvre and retreated that baffled even we that were with him. When many wanted to surrender, he made a quest to fight and to win for Nigeria to continue as a united country.”
Surviving Ambushes
The retired soldier recounted several ambushes encountered during the war. He said, “We encountered many ambushes and attacks but one of the most memorable was when we were encircled at Ukpo Junction in Abbagana. Murtala did a tactical manoeuvre and withdrew and prepared for a defensive attack that led to the capture of many towns and cities.”
Otuwe added that after some operations, troops moved through Asaba and later to Idah in present-day Kogi State to prepare for further offensives.
“In 1968, there was a reshuffle that took General Murtala back to Lagos as Minister of Communications and Inspector of Signals. That meant he was doing two jobs at the same time,” he said.
Speaking on how his job affected his family, Otuwe said his wife had become accustomed to military life.
“She was married to a soldie,r and she had become part of the system. When she saw us at home, it meant we were off duty,” he said.
He added that his children rarely saw him due to his demanding schedule.
“Most of my children almost forgot me as I left home at dawn and came back late in the night,” Otuwe noted.
Secret Visits, Price Monitoring
Otuwe also recounted how Muhammad disguised himself to monitor market prices in Lagos.
“I and his ADC, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinterinwa, once followed him to survey prices and the rising cost of goods,” he said.
“He wore a tracksuit, a face cap and dark goggles and rode a horse to a filling station, disembarked, tied it and entered Sangross (Lagos Island), then Ajegunle and later Agege markets. The ADC pretended that we were not together, and the ADC was writing the prices, and I was pretending to be a window shopper. A market woman told him to give other buyers a chance as people were more disciplined then, as everybody queued for their turn. After two weeks goods and meat came in ships. People tagged the meat as ‘Murtala Meat’”.
Michael Otuwe – Murtala Muhammed Orderly
The Day Of Assassination
When asked about what happened the day Murtala was assassinated, Otuwe narrated, “He was assassinated on July 29, 1976 (Starts shedding tears). He ruled for six months from July 29, 1975, to February 13, 1976. He was a very good man, as he did not allow the goods (personal effects) of General Gowon to be thrown out, but to be removed gently, and for the house to be renovated before he relocated from Dodan Barracks. That was why he was shuttling from Ikoyi without pilot cars, motorbike outriders, armed military and security bodyguards among others. He only rode in the official Mercedes-Benz car with two flags, the national flag on the left and the armed forces flag on the right. On that fateful day, we passed through the Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi, which was undergoing renovation and covered with zinc.
“When we reached Alagbgon Junction, the traffic man did not notice the flags, he would have allowed the traffic in our direction to continue moving, but he stopped the five or six cars in front of us then I saw some people in agbada (Babanriga) and when they lifted them up they brought out AK-47 rifles and fired at us. Already a masked man had got the driver, Sergeant Adamu Michika, in the head and he feel on the arm-rest where the suit case containing the General’s mufti was. I took cover and fell on the driver.
“The General and the ADC also took cover. When the assassins left and were heading to the National Broadcasting Corporation, Radio House, to announce the takeover, one of the Majors turned and saw that when the ADC opened the door to help the General, the Major shouted and notified his colleagues that they were alive. This made them turn and rush back and empty their bullets at us. I was the only survivor as I was shot in the arm and the hip.
“The troops loyal to General Murtala came after the soldiers and they took us to the mortuary. I recovered from coma when the breeze from the air conditioner and the pain woke me up. A mortuary attendant noticed that I raised my hand, and he alerted a doctor, who said I was alive, and they took me to Dodan Barracks and then to a hospital on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi.”
About his recovery from the incident, Otuwe said, “I spent six months recovering and resumed work with the Nigerian Army Signal Corps. Where I worked with Generals Adenaju, Raji Rasaki and lastly Tanko Ayuba.
Asked whether he has ever received any honour, the retired soldier responded, “No, not at all.”
Sharing his residence at the time of the interview, Otuwe revealed, “I am now staying in a rented two-bedroom house in Maraba in Nasarawa State. The street has no name not to talk of house number. But I am working in the office of Riskua Murtala Muhammed in Maitama.”
Otuwe recalled that he retired from service on December 31, 1999, as a Master Warrant Officer.
On whether he ever regretted serving in the Nigerian Army, Otuwe said: “No, no, no, not at all.” See more
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