Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun (20 October 1924 – 15 January 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 ...

officer who was commander of the 1st Brigade during the January 1966 coup.

Early life and family

He was born on 20 October 1924 in Ondo Town, Western Nigeria, and was considered one of the country's finest officers at the time. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ademulegun, he had his early education in Ondo state before joining the Nigerian Army as a private in 1942. Ademulegun married Latifat Feyisitan Abike Ademulegun (nee Noble) who was also known as Sisi Nurse.

Career

Ademulegun was commissioned in 1949 and was a member of the senior Officer Corps of the army along with

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 ...

Zakariya Maimalari Zakariya Maimalari was a Nigerian Army brigadier, he was killed in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état. He was commander of the 2nd Brigade, Apapa, Lagos in 1966. Maimalari was born in the present day Yobe State, he was educated at Barewa College, ...

and

Babafemi Ogundipe Babafemi Olatunde Ogundipe (6 September 1924 – 20 November 1971) was the ''de facto'' Vice President of Nigeria, second-in-command and first Supreme Military Council of Nigeria (1966–1979), Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters from 1966 Nige ...

. He was among those considered for the top army position of GOC in 1965 upon the retirement of the expatriate General Officer Commanding (GOC). He was considered friendly with

Ahmadu Bello Sir Ahmadu Bello (; born Ahmadu Rabah; 12 June 1910 – 15 January 1966), famously known as Sardauna of Sokoto, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who was one of the leading northern politicians in 1960 and served as its first and only pre ...

which brought distaste to some junior officers who frowned at their commander fraternizing with politicians.

Death

Ademulegun and his wife were killed while in bed during the 1966 coup when they were shot by rebels led by

Timothy Onwuatuegwu Timothy Onwuatuegwu (? – 15 January 1970) was a Nigerian military officer and later a Major in the Biafran Armed Forces. He was a leading military figure in the Nigerian Civil War and a participant in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'etat. Educatio ...

, an instructor at the Nigerian Military Training College. In an

eyewitness Eyewitness or eye witness may refer to: Witness * Witness, someone who has knowledge acquired through first-hand experience ** Eyewitness memory ** Eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander or victim gives in the court ...

account of the murder by his daughter, Solape Ademulegun-Agbi, she narrates how her father was killed by military officers. Her account provided details of the invasion and gruesome murder of the former General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1st Division in

Kaduna state Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...

. Killed in what is considered Nigeria's first coup, the perpetrators are recorded to be ridding the country of corrupt politicians and those who were close to them. He was survived by his daughter Mrs. Solape Ademulegun-Agbi, Bankole, Kunle, Gbenga, Goke, and his oldest son Frank Bamidele who later enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force where he rose to the rank of Group

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

before he died in 2002.

Early life and family

Career

Death

References

Further reading