Timothy Onwuatuegwu
| Timothy Onwuatuegwu | |
|---|---|
| Born | unknown |
| Died | January 15, 1970 Biafra |
| Allegiance | |
| Years of service | 1961–1966, 1967-1970 |
| Rank |
Major (Nigerian Army) Major (Biafran Army) |
| Commands held |
|
| Battles/wars |
1966 Nigerian coup d'etat Nigerian Civil War Siege of Owerri Operation Leopard Operation Tail-Wind † |
Timothy Onwuatuegwu (? - January 15, 1970) was a Biafran Army Major and former Nigerian Army Major. He was a leading military figure in the Nigerian Civil War and a participant in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'etat.
Onwuategwu received his commission into the Nigerian army after graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom in 1961, where he was coursemates with other officers such as Murtala Muhammed, Muhammed Shuwa, and Illiya Bisalla.
Timothy Onwuatuegwu took part in the 1966 military coup which overthrew Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa while also killing many other Northern senior army officers. Onwuatuegwu was put in control of a small band of Igbo soldiers whose main job was to assassinate any Nigerian officer or politician they deemed a threat Kaduna. Maj. Onwuatuegwu, personally led a detachment of soldiers to Brig. Samuel Ademulegun's house. Onwuatuegwu made his way up to the Brigadier's room where he was laying beside his wife. Upon seeing Onwuatuegwu enter the room, Ademulegun shouted at him "Timothy, what the devil do you think your doing?". Onwuatuegwu told Ademulegun that he was under arrest. Ademulegun reached for a drawer beside his bed, and as he did so, Onwuatuegwu shot him dead in his bed, along with Ademulegun's wife who was laying beside him. Although the coup was stopped by the Igbo general Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi both Onwuatuegwu and his superior Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu were able to control the northern portion of Nigeria for a few weeks. Both Onwuatuegwu and Nzeogwu were arrested by Nigerian police officers in early February but were not executed which outraged many Northern civilians. For an entire year Onwuatuegwu was in an Enugu prison until May 30, 1967 when he was freed by Biafran president Odumegwu Ojukwu.
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