Christian Anuforo (1938 – August 1966) was a

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

major and one of the principal plotters of the 15 January 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria.

Education

Anuforo attended Saint John's College in Kaduna, where he became close friends with Kaduna Nzeogwu. He received his commission in 1961 from the

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

Participation in the 15 January 1966 coup

While serving as the staff officer at Army Headquarters, Anuforo along with other majors ( Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Adewale Ademoyega,

Don Okafor Major Donatus Okafor (died July 1966) was a Nigerian army officer, Commander of the Federal Guards Brigade, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military ...

Humphrey Chukwuka Humphrey Chukwuka is a retired Nigerian Army Major, former Biafran Army Colonel, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup. Career Chukwuka was commissioned into the Nigerian Army after officer cadet training at the Royal M ...

, Fola Oyewole, O. Olafemiyan, G. Adeleke and Timothy Onwuatuegwu, plotted the overthrow of

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria, Prime Minister of Nigeria. A dominant figure of Nigerian Independence, he was a conservative Anglophile. His political career spa ...

and

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 ...

's government for what the conspirators perceived as the government's corrupt management of Nigeria. Anuforo was reportedly the most ruthless of the 15 January conspirators and according to the Nigerian Police Special Branch investigation of the coup, Anuforo executed Lt Colonels James Pam, Arthur Unegbe, Colonel Kur Mohammed and Federal Minister of Finance Festus Okotie-Eboh.

Death

In August 1966 some troops (of northern origin) from the 4th battalion at Ibadan, after attending a funeral in

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, learned that Anuforo and other conspirators were in the Benin prison. The 4th battalion troops then broke into Benin prison to exact revenge for what they perceived as an ethnic based coup that had many northern casualties. Anuforo and other soldiers in detention such as warrant officers James Ogbu and B. Okuge, Sergeants Chukwu, Ogbuhara, and Ndukife, were tortured and killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anuforo, Chris Igbo Army personnel Nigerian Army officers Participants in the January 1966 Nigerian military coup Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 1966 deaths 1938 births