We Demand Compensation, Sincere Apology - Aguiyi-Ironsi’s Family To FG

Adenuga Toheeb Ayoola

The family of Nigeria’s first military Head of State, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, has urged the Federal Government to compensate the family and issue a formal apology over his killing during the July 1966 counter-coup.

Speaking during an interview conducted by Arise News, the head of the Aguiyi-Ironsi family, Imo Aguiyi-Ironsi, said the family had waited for decades for justice, insisting that the late military leader deserved to be remembered for his service to the country rather than the circumstances of his death.

According to him, Aguiyi-Ironsi had no involvement in the January 15, 1966 coup and only became Head of State because he was the most senior military officer at the time. “He wasn’t killed because of any offence he committed. He had nothing to do with the January coup. He simply accepted the responsibility of leading the country when he was asked to do so, and that decision eventually cost him his life,” he said.

He called on the Federal Government to acknowledge what happened by offering the family a sincere apology, providing compensation and pursuing genuine reconciliation.Imo Aguiyi-Ironsi described the late Head of State as a visionary, detribalised leader whose six-month administration ended abruptly with his assassination during the July 1966 counter-coup.

Aguiyi-Ironsi assumed office on January 16, 1966, following the military coup that overthrew Nigeria’s First Republic. He was killed on July 29, 1966, alongside his host, Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, during the counter-coup led by mutinous soldiers.

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