Muftau Adegoke Babatunde Elegbede (13 August 1939 – 19 June 1994) or Tunde Elegbede was Chief of Nigeria's Defence Intelligence Agency from July 1986 to January 1990 and Military Governor of

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

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, ...

between July 1978 and October 1979. Elegbede attended the Methodist Boys High School in Lagos.

Military career

As a Navy Captain, Elegbede was appointed Military Governor of Cross River State between 28 July 1978 and 30 September 1979, when he handed over power to the elected civilian governor

Clement Isong Clement Nyong Isong (; 20 April 1920 – 29 May 2000) was a Nigerian banker and politician who was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1967 to 1975 during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon. He was later elected governor of Cros ...

at the start of the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region ...

. During his tenure, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria was established at

Oron Oron may refer to: "Light" or someone that is "being able" or "capable" of doing anything posible or impossible. *Oron people a multi ethnic group of people living In the lower Cross River basin. *Oron Nation, one of the major states in the old Ca ...

(now in

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...

). During the military regime of 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 ...

that followed the Second Republic after a 31 December 1983 coup, Elegbede was Chairman of the Kaduna Zone military tribunal, which was set up to try public officers from the previous civilian regime who had been accused of embezzling public funds. He was appointed director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, and was later head of administration in Defence Headquarters under 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 ...

. In September 1985, Commodore Elegbede was Flag Officer Commanding, Sea Training Command. He was a member of Babangida's Armed Forces Ruling Council from 1983 to 1993.

Death

Elegbede was gunned down by gunmen on 19 June 1994 along the Gbagada/Owonshoki expressway in

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 ...

, hit by more than 70 automatic rifle bullets. In July 2001, three of the seven suspected robbers were formally charged. However, as of September 2009, nobody had been convicted of the murder.

References

1942 births 1994 deaths Nigerian military governors of Cross River State Nigerian Navy admirals Assassinated Nigerian politicians Yoruba military personnel People murdered in Lagos Methodist Boys' High School alumni 1994 murders in Nigeria Yoruba politicians Deaths by firearm in Nigeria Nigerian security personnel Chiefs of Nigeria Defence Intelligence Agency Assassinated governors and heads of sub-national entities 20th-century governors African politicians assassinated in the 1990s Politicians assassinated in 1994 {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub