Dodan Barracks is a military barrack located in
Ikoyi
Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class r ...
,
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. The barrack was the Supreme Military Headquarters during the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...
and from
1966 to 1979 and
1983 to 1985, Dodan Barracks was the
official residence
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...
of the
military heads of state of the
Nigerian military juntas of 1966–79 and 1983–99, and also the Supreme Military Headquarters from 1966 until the move to
Abuja
Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
in 1991.
Name
The name "Dodan" originated from the site of a battle fought during the
Burma campaign
The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...
of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by the
81st West African Division
The 81st (West African) Division was formed under British control during the Second World War. It took part in the Burma Campaign.
History
The inspiration for the division's formation came from General George Giffard, commander of the British ...
.
Military headquarters
Dodan Barracks was one of the bases of a group of
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 ...
majors who overthrew the First Nigerian Republic in
January 1966
The following events occurred in January 1966: 9108132284
January 1, 1966 (Saturday)
*In college football, the #1 1965 Michigan State Spartans football team, Michigan State Spartans were upset by the #5 1965 UCLA Bruins football team, UCLA ...
. The coup was suppressed by the army whose commander, Major General
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (3 March 1924 – 29 July 1966) was a Nigerian general who was the first military head of state of Nigeria. He seized power during the ensuing chaos after the 15 January 1966 military coup. Ironsi ruled ...
, then became head of state. In July 1966, Dodan Barracks became the seat of power in Nigeria after a
counter-coup in which Ironsi was killed and his chief of staff, General
Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former military officer and statesman who served as the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975.
Gowon was Nigeria's leader during the Nigerian Civil War where he delivered ...
was made head of state, moving into the Federal Guard officer's mess. The Barracks was the location where Gowon received the formal
Biafra
Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...
n surrender at the end of the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...
in January 1970. Subsequent rulers kept their base at the barracks for the next quarter of a century.
Gowon was overthrown in a
July 1975 coup, succeeded by General
Murtala Mohammed
Murtala Ramat Muhammed (; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi a ...
. In
an attempted coup in February 1976, Murtala was killed when his convoy was ambushed. Obasanjo moved into the barracks for security reasons.
[
In 1977, troops invaded the compound of musician Fela ]Kuti
KUTI (1460 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a sports format to the Yakima, Washington, United States area. The station was last owned by Townsquare Media. The station reached all parts of the Yakima Valley area. It aired programming from ...
, called the father of Afrobeat
Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...
, who was critical of the military regime. They beat up the men, raped the women and threw Fela into detention. His 78-year-old mother died later of injuries from being thrown from a second story window. On his release, he recorded an album titled ''Coffin For Head of State''. Fela and his supporters marched his mother's empty coffin to Dodan Barracks and left it there to shame Obasanjo.
The Dodan Barracks was the location for a meeting in April 1978 between US President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
and Olusegun Obasanjo.
In the successful December 1983 coup, when General Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
seized power from President Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (; 25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018) was a Nigerian politician who was the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by Military Head of State of Nigeria, military head of sta ...
, the troops in the barracks initially resisted, only to yield the day after. A palace coup in August 1985 orchestrated by General Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...
, seized power from under Buhari. In January 1986, a Special Military Tribunal was established to try suspects accused of plotting to overthrow General Babangida. The tribunal conducted the trial at the Dodan Barracks, finding 17 of the defendants guilty of treason.
Dodan Barracks was one of the key locations seized in the April 1990 coup attempt by Major Gideon Orkar
Major Gideon Gwaza Orkar (October 4, 1952 – July 27, 1990) was a Nigerian military officer who staged an attempted violent coup against the government of General Ibrahim Babangida on April 22, 1990. Orkar and his conspirators seized the FRCN ra ...
against General Ibrahim Babangida. Babangida was resident when the barracks were attacked, but escaped by a back route. The guards thwarted the coup attempt, losing five members in defence of Dodan Barracks. Babangida's wife, Maryam, who was also present with her children at the time of the coup attempt, recalled that when she moved into the barracks in 1985 she had to arrange for considerable renovations to make the rooms more suitable for formal receptions.
Civilian rule
After the move of army headquarters to Abuja in 1991, and the resumption of civilian power in 1999, funding for maintenance of the barracks was greatly reduced. By late 2003 the grounds were dirty and unkempt, sewage was leaking from broken pipes, the walls of some buildings were cracked and most were abandoned.
In 2004 the then civilian President Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
- as a gesture of a departure from past military dictatorship finally ordered Dodan Barracks and all other military barracks not in use across the country be handed over to the country's Police Force.
In August 2006, the Lagos Environment and Sanitation Network identified a heavily polluted drainage channel in the Obalende mammy market, behind the State House and Dodan Barracks. An August 2007 analysis found the water was heavily contaminated with faecal material. People living and working in the market, Dodan Barracks and the State House were at risk from diseases such as typhoid fever, diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera. In January 2009, it was reported that President Umaru Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 Ma ...
would spend part of his vacation at the barracks.
References
{{Coord, 6, 26, 58, N, 3, 25, 1, E, display=title
Barracks in Nigeria
Official residences in Lagos
Residential buildings in Lagos