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
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 ...
on April 22, 1990.
Orkar and his conspirators seized the
FRCN radio station, various military posts around
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 ...
and the
Dodan Barracks, Lagos, the military headquarters and presidential Villa. Babangida was present when the barracks were attacked but managed to escape by a back route.
In his coup address, Orkar called for the excision of five northern states.
However, the coup was crushed by the Babangida regime and Orkar including 41 other coconspirators were tried, convicted of treason and were executed.
Background and education
Gideon Orkar was the 9th child born to the family of Levi Orkar Chi, a teacher of
Tiv heritage in Apir village of
Makurdi
Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342.
The town is divided by the Ri ...
Local Government in
Benue State
Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...
. He attended primary schools at the village of Apir and Wadata. He also attended Boys Secondary School,
Gindiri,
Plateau State
Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...
, and while taking Higher School Certificate classes, he responded to an army advertisement and joined the
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 ...
in 1972 as cadet no 682.
[African concord. (1990). The Coup Major, May 7, 1990. Concord Press of Nigeria] He started his
officer cadet
Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps.
Th ...
training at the
Nigerian Defence Academy
The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration ...
,
Kaduna with the 12th Regular Combatant Course.
He was commissioned in December 1974 in the rank of Second Lieutenant and posted to the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps School in
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...
.
Military career
Orkar was part of the peacekeeping contingent in
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
in 1978. He served in various units including the Reece at
Kaduna, 82, Div,
Enugu
Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...
, and Armoured School,
Bauchi
Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...
. In 1986, he attended the senior Officers Course 9 at the Command and Staff College, Jaji. He also served as commander of
Saki
Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), popularly known by his pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirise Edwardian society and ...
22 Armoured Battalion in
Oyo State
Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...
. His last posting prior to the April 1990 coup was as a member of the Directing Staff of the
Command and Staff College,
Jaji.
Death
Major Orkar and 41 other conspirators were convicted of treason
and
executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...
on 27 July 1990 by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida.
References
External links
Orkar's Speech
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orkar, Gideon
Nigerian Army officers
Nigerian Defence Academy alumni
Instructors at the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College
People executed by Nigeria by firing squad
20th-century executions by Nigeria
Executed Nigerian people
1952 births
1990 deaths
Tiv people
Participants of coups in Nigeria