Christian Igbomba Anuforo
Born1938 (1938)
DiedAugust 1966(1966-08-00) (aged 27–28)
Allegiance Nigeria
Service/branch Nigerian Army
Rank Major
Alma materSaint John's College
Spouse(s)Henrietta Ada Anuforo

Christian Anuforo (1938 – August 1966) was a Nigerian Army major and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria.

Education

Anuforo attended Saint John's College in Kaduna, where he became close friends with Kaduna Nzeogwu.[1] He received his commission in 1961 from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.[2]

Participation in the January 15, 1966 coup

While serving as the Staff Officer at Army Headquarters, Anuforo along with other Majors (Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Adewale Ademoyega, Don Okafor, Humphrey Chukwuka, Fola Oyewole,O.Olafemiyan,G.Adeleke and Timothy Onwuatuegwu plotted the overthrow of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Nnamdi Azikiwe's government for what the conspirators perceived as the government's corrupt management of Nigeria.

Anuforo was reportedly the most ruthless of the January 15 conspirators and according to the Nigerian Police Special Branch investigation of the coup, Anuforo executed Lt Colonels James Pam, Arthur Unegbe, Colonel Kur Mohammed and Federal Minister of Finance Festus Okotie-Eboh.[3][4]

Death

In August 1966 some troops (of northern origin) from the 4th battalion at Ibadan, after attending a funeral in Benin, learned that Anuforo and other January 15 conspirators were in the Benin prison. The 4th battalion troops then broke into Benin prison to exact revenge for what they perceived as an ethnic based January 15, 1966 coup that had many northern casualties.[5] Anuforo and other soldiers in detention such as warrant officers James Ogbu and B. Okuge, Sergeants Chukwu, Ogbuhara, and Ndukife, were tortured and killed.

References

  1. ↑ Obasanjo, Olusegun. Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9789780291341.
  2. ↑ Luckham, Robin. The Nigerian Military a Sociological Analysis of Authority & Revolt 1960-1967. CUP Archive, 1971. p. 344.
  3. ↑ Siollun, Max. Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing, 2009. p. 53. ISBN 9780875867106.
  4. ↑ Omoigui, Nowa. "The Key Players of the 1966 Rebellions-Where Are They Today?". Gamji. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  5. ↑ Siollun, Max. Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing, 2009. p. 130. ISBN 9780875867106.
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