Major General Mohammed Shuwa (1 September 1939 – 2 November 2012) was a Nigerian

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and the first

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

of the Nigerian Army's 1st Division. Shuwa commanded the 1st Division 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 ...

. He was murdered in Maiduguri by suspected

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

militants on 2 November 2012.

Background & education

Shuwa was born in Masharte,

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

on 1 September 1939. He attended Kala Elementary School (1946–1947), Bama Central Elementary School (1948–1950), Bornu Middle School (1950–1952), and Barewa College,

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

for his secondary education (1952–1957). He was classmates with Gen. Murtala Muhammed at Barewa and at subsequent military institutions. Along with Murtala Muhammed and others such as

Illiya Bisalla Iliya D. Bisalla (died 11 March 1976) was a Major General in the Nigerian Army and Defence Minister of Nigeria, Commissioner of Defence (title is now Defence Minister of Nigeria, Minister of Defence) under the military administration of General ...

, and Ibrahim Haruna, Shuwa joined the Nigerian Army on 19 September 1958 and pursued his preliminary cadet training at the Regular Officers Special Training School in Teshie,

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. He received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in July 1961 after completing

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

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

Activities during the Nigerian Army mutiny of July 1966 and October Kano massacres

July 1966 Mutiny

Then Lt. Col Shuwa was Commander of the 5th Battalion in Kano during the Nigerian Army Mutiny of July 1966 where many Igbo military officers were systematically murdered by their northern counterparts for what the northern officers perceived as retribution for the January 15, 1966 coup (which was led by mostly Igbo officers). Shuwa's deputy at the 5th Battalion, then Major James Oluleye took the initiative by asking his company commanders to lock up the battalion armory and hand over the armory keys in Olulye's armory safe. As a result of Shuwa and Oluleye's leadership, the lives of many Igbo officers during the July mutiny were saved.

October Kano massacre

In late September 1966, Shuwa and Oluleye were serendipitously posted away from the 5th Battalion and were replaced by then Major Abba Kyari and Captain Auna. On October 1, 1966, 5th Battalion troops mutinied and opened fire on the parade ground as they were addressed by Major Kyari. The mutineers murdered Captain Auna and their Regimental Sergeant Major Dauda Mumuni while Major Kyari was able to escape and hide off base. The rampaging soldiers broke into the armory and murdered Igbo civilians in Kano including some Igbo refugees about to board a south bound plane. Lt. Colonel Hassan Katsina, military governor of the Northern Region intervened with the assistance of Lt Colonel Shuwa, Major Martin Adamu, and Lieutenant Garba Duba to suppress the mutiny. The quartet was initially overwhelmed by the mutineers and subsequently enlisted the assistance of the Emir of Kano to quell the mutiny.

Activities during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)

As General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army's 1 Division during the Civil War, Shuwa opposed

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 ...

's disastrous 2nd Division Onitsha river assault (almost to the point where both men exchanged blows). Upon Major Kaduna Nzeogwu's death (then a Biafran Lt. Col) at a battle with Nigerian troops in Nsukka, it was then Col. Shuwa who informed Head of State Major-General Yakubu Gowon about Nzeogwu's demise. Despite the fact that Nzeogwu was technically an enemy soldier killed in combat against the Nigerian Army, Gowon ordered that Nzeogwu's body be flown to Kaduna and buried with full military honours, even as the war raged on in the Eastern Region.

Post Civil War years

From 1975 to 1979, Mohammed Shuwa served as Federal Commissioner for Trade and Works. He retired from the Nigerian Army on October 1, 1979, when the military administration of General

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 ...

handed over the reins of political power in Nigeria to the democratically elected government of 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 ...

Death

Shuwa was murdered in his home in Maiduguri, in northern Nigeria, on 2 November 2012 by suspected

militants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuwa, Mohammed 1939 births 2012 murders in Nigeria 2012 deaths Assassinated Nigerian military personnel Nigerian Muslims Barewa College alumni Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Nigerian generals People from Borno State People murdered in Nigeria Unsolved murders in Nigeria Nigerian Shuwa Arabs