NewStats: 3,263,963 , 8,182,096 topics. Date: Monday, 09 June 2025 at 05:04 AM 2l6j5z

Former Military Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB, has recounted a civil war experience that nearly took his life after his command, 82 Battalion, came under heavy bombardment from Biafran forces on March 27, 1969.

IBB stated that the Biafran artillery began an uninterrupted bombardment of their positions, noting that not even Nigerian troops’ aggressive response to those attacks deterred Biafran troops.

In his just launched book, ‘A Journey in Service’, the former military Head of State recounted that it was during that fierce fighting that a Biafran Ogbunigwe shell wounded him.

IBB’ss words: “Now, the attention of federal troops shifted to Umuahia. After the first attempt to take Umuahia by the Third Marine Commando failed, Colonel Shuwa gave that task to Lt-Col. Danjuma, who commenced the invasion of Umuahia just days before March 27, 1969. That attack would go on until April 24, 1969.

“As a Major, I was Commander of the 82 Battalion, one of the seven Battalions deployed by Lt-Col. Danjuma to invade and capture Umuahia.

“But to get to Umuahia, we had to first go through Uzuakoli, a mere 13 kilometres away. On March 27, we came under heavy bombardment from Biafran forces. But somehow, we held our ground and bulldozed our way to the outskirts of Uzuakoli.

“Then, under my command, on April 1, the 82nd Battalion attacked and captured Uzuakoli. But as it turned out, our victory came with severe costs.

“Now acutely aware that from our position in Uzuakoli, we were only a few kilometres away from Umuahia, the Biafran artillery began an uninterrupted bombardment of our positions.

“Not even our aggressive response to these attacks deterred them. It was during that fierce fighting that a Biafran Ogbunigwe shell wounded me. The shrapnel landed on the left side of my chest and came close, we would later find out, to affecting my lung. I was fortunate.”

The former head of state continued: “Initially, I wasn’t aware that I had taken a hit. Partly because of the intense and prolonged firefight, I never heard a shot or felt the impact. I smelled some burning human flesh.

“In those brief seconds, the wound didn’t hurt. Then suddenly, as I grabbed my chest and felt blood oozing out, I felt like a kick in the trunk had left me with a numb, throbbing pain. And then, my feet started to gradually go numb, first above the knee, then below it. At that point, I think I fell and had to be moved, and one of the other commanders, Mamman Vatsa, took over the command of my battalion.

“My casualty evacuation process was slower than my colleagues would have wanted. It was getting past dusk, and since the available makeshift runway lacked take-off and landing gears, an improvised runway had to be created from a convoy of military vehicles with their full lights on! Once that was done, I was promptly evacuated to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos.


“Surprisingly, despite the throbbing pain, I remained alert and conscious from the moment I took the hit through the period of my evacuation.

“Even though I wasn’t sure of the nature of my injury, my spirit was upbeat. While I didn’t think I was about to die, I knew this would be a life-changing experience.”

https://dailypost.ng/2025/02/22/how-biafran-ogbunigwe-shell-nearly-took-my-life-ibb-recounts-war-experience/

Ok

Only few Nigerians knows how to press IPOB mumu bottom 🤣 IBB well done

Buhari seff collect ogbunigwe for nyansh badly wounded.

Benjamin adekunle sacrificed alot of his troops under the 3th Marin battalion trying to capture ABA umuahia and Owerri within a week, he could have sacrificed more if Gowon had not replaced him

Honestly this is rather boring..people have since moved on.. Afar Nigeria?

yarimo:
Only few Nigerians knows how to press IPOB mumu bottom 🤣 IBB well done

Your mumuness no get cure

Skooltynz:


You and your kinsmen no just get a sense, this is the of a brave general who saw and participated in The real war not you cowards was the ogbunigwe use on chickens or soldiers Mumu azeez okanlawon

You people get time and patience quoting lamebrain on this forum. Can you point to one meaningful comment he made on Nairaland that was beneficial to anyone? Absolutely none. So save your time.

yarimo:
Only few Nigerians knows how to press IPOB mumu bottom 🤣 IBB well done

later Private Azeez aka Baba Azeez, a low ranking soldier that never crossed Ekiti boundary with Ondo will be the one telling his Yoruba kinsmen how he single handedly defeated Omo Igbo Biafra soldiers and Karim, Olatunde, Hafeez, Ramaotu and Co will be shinning their yellow teeth in ecstacy of the fake story their old soldier baba is telling them

Mrfeel:
Benjamin adekunle sacrificed alot of his troops under the 3th Marin battalion trying to capture ABA umuahia and Owerri within a week, he could have sacrificed more if Gowon had not replaced him

The 3rd Marine Commando failed to capture Umuahia, despite their ruthless vow to shoot anything that moved—or didn’t. If you read about the 1969 recapture of Owerri, you’ll see that their name was an illusion. They weren’t an elite force; they were cannon fodder. Out of 33,000 men, fewer than 1,000 survived—a horrific waste of human life. Babangida, having lived his full life, has nothing to lose by telling the truth. Yet, delusional people still parade themselves as war heroes, despite having waged a campaign of starvation that killed millions of innocent women and children.


There was nothing really the Nigerian military could do in the battle field against Biafra aside the starvation of women and children, no special battle field or battle ground achievement.. Thank God it is coming openly from a war general.

yarimo:
Only few Nigerians knows how to press IPOB mumu bottom 🤣 IBB well done

Will an 80 year old war general preparing to meet his God and make peace with everyone be pressing anyone's mumu button. This is the real of the war from a real participant

Nairaland doesn’t hide its bigotry anymore

The Biafran Military hierarchy were just amateurish to be honest,shelling and setting IEDs known as ogbunigwe weren't gonna stop the Nigerian military juggernaut from bulldozing their way all over Biafran land. If they had taken heed from their mercenaries from Europe, who had extensive experience fighting guerrilla bush wars all over Africa, they would have allowed for selected sniper scout reconnaissance units to sniff out Nigerian Officers and NCOs leading from the front, if you hit Officers who had extensive and expensive British colonial training like Obasanjo, Buhari,IBB, Danjuma, Abacha, Vatsa, Muritala Mohammed,that black scorpion guy and co, I am sure the war would have been a stalemate..

IBB's book is telling us how he tried to make a non-northerner win but the South-East didn't want it. Nzeribe the rich man started the ABN movement that clamoured for military rule to continue, while the South-East stood behind Northerner Tofa so that Abiola the man with the muslim-muslim ticket would not win. History unfortunately finds a way to sickly repeat itself.

If Nigeria were a sane clime, IBB should be in jail. He just publicly itted to those killings.

Nearly you for collect from 'ogbunigwe'.
You were lucky.

This book is a must read for me. I will also read it over and over again as I did others.

SQLmastar:
If Nigeria were a sane clime, IBB should be in jail. He just publicly itted to those killings.

Which killings...?

It's war Bro!

kettykin:


The 3rd Marine Commando failed to capture Umuahia, despite their ruthless vow to shoot anything that moved—or didn’t. If you read about the 1969 recapture of Owerri, you’ll see that their name was an illusion. They weren’t an elite force; they were cannon fodder. Out of 33,000 men, fewer than 1,000 survived—a horrific waste of human life. Babangida, having lived his full life, has nothing to lose by telling the truth. Yet, delusional people still parade themselves as war heroes, despite having waged a campaign of starvation that killed millions of innocent women and children.


There was nothing really the Nigerian military could do in the battle field against Biafra aside the starvation of women and children, no special battle field or battle ground achievement.. Thank God it is coming openly from a war general.

This my problem with igbos like you.

One hand you boost of killing Nigerian solider in thousands in the war

Another hand you cry about Nigeria soliders genocide against you in the same war.


Delusion at it peak.

yarimo:
Only few Nigerians knows how to press IPOB mumu bottom 🤣 IBB well done

Well the article shows that Biafra was advanced enough to produce its own munitions.

Your apc government is yet to take us that high.

And yes , I am.for one Nigeria, so sorry.

Book full of lies, self praises, self righteous and self glory. I can never take this man serious for anything. He is the architect of what Nigerian are ing through today. Now he wants to die a hero. Well... Well.... Oh well...Babangida we know... Maradona we know .. until he dies, he will keep dribbling tribes against tribes, friends against friends.... enemies against enemies...... He can't change..... And yet, he is being celebrated and now a hero just because of glorified praises and winning especially to the new generation that doesn't know who he was, who he is and what he is planning to achieve with his so called a book. To many now, he is telling the whole truth and he can't lie because he wanted to die a free man.... Now he is a hero .. what a country!....what a citizen !...What a shame.. . That's why politicians are pinging them up and down....

Another level of mockingly

OldNORSE:
Nairaland doesn’t hide its bigotry anymore

I don talk am before say MUGU's choke here brr including the mods...

Personally, I have written about this civil war and how Igbos are labelled as conspirators which I still stood by.

Now that General Babangida is trying to dribble us again, and Igbos are saying otherwise, I think we all need to take a step back.

Number 1, IBB cannot be trusted. A man who lied against dead people. Firstly, he lied against Abacha that he alone annulled June 12 and not togerher with him, and secondly, he insisted that Vasta planned a coup against him without giving us a real evidence even till this moment. Can we trust such person? A man who bastardised Nigeria. A man who finished Nigeria. He has lied on several occasions.

The truth is that Igbos themselves are victims of this evil man. And what IBB is trying to do now...he will meet a shameful end.

Now, let's be real. Igbos don't need Nigeria anymore. This is the truth. Listen, Igbo will prosper on their own if they can unite and do something. As long as Yoruba and Igbos are in the same nation, there will be problem. The earlier we forget the past and move on, the better for everyone.

Yorubas don't trust Igbos, and vice versa. This is the truth. I read a post where an Igbo said Yoruba are backstabbers. Lol. I have written about this na. While I don't see Yorubas as backstabbers, they just are experts in playing Igbos. Why? Na lie a dey lie? Tell me. Do we need to start arguing how forceful Igbos are? Igbos cannot deny it too. Dem go dey talk like say dem own everything. Lol. But those Yorubas, dem go just dey silent, dey shake their heads as if they have succumed to Igbo's bullying....dem go just dey watch Igbos dey ginger and swagger all over the places. At the last min, dem go cut dem Igbos ticket. Amd na so Igbos go dey cry bitterly. E dey happen many times na. So, they can't unite. Let's be factual here.

The Biafra war is a lesson for us all. The best is that we go our separate ways and stop fooling ourselves that Nigeria will work. Nigeria will NEVER work. Healing will not take place unless we go our separate ways.

Goodluck to you all.

SQLmastar:
If Nigeria were a sane clime, IBB should be in jail. He just publicly itted to those killings.

You may also.want to jail all the generals involved in prosecuting the war on Biafra's side who were responsible for bombing and attacking and killing many on the Nigerian side.

And you may also want to arrest the victorious generals in wars like world war 2 for example. Especially bomber Harris.

In war, people die,.people get hurt. And justice is not done. That's why we must prevent it

Na why ona no want Biafra to go cos naija get many things to loose...