Akintunde Akinsehinwa

Akintunde Akinsehinwa was born in Ondo, Ondo State Nigeria on November 11, 1944. He graduated and obtained his (WAEC) diploma from Edopkolo Secondary School in Benin City, Edo State in 1963. Upon graduation he relocated to Ibadan where he worked as a clerk at the High Court.
At the inception of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967 Akintunde Akinsehinwa was recruited by the Nigerian Army and trained as a Cadet Officer at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry in Jaji, Kaduna State. Akintunde was commissioned a Second Lieutenant after 6 months of training and deployed to the war front joining the famous 3rd Marine Commando Division (3MCDO) under the command of Colonel Benjamin “Black Scorpion” Adekunle. Second Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa saw action in Calabar in an offensive to squash the secession of the Biafran Separatists Movement.

At the end of the war in 1970 Lieutenant Colonel Akintunde Akinsehinwa was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant after completing a Signal Officers Training Course. Akintunde was posted to Arakan Signals Barracks in Apapa, Lagos as an officer of the Nigerian Signals Corps.

Akintunde Akinsehinwa was appointed Staff Officer to then Brigadier General Murtala Mohammed who was the Brigade Commander at Arakan. When Brigadier General Murtala Mohammed was appointed Minister of Communications by the General Yakubu Gowon regime he took Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa as his Personnel Staff Officer and Technical Advisor.

Mohammed / Akinsehinwa / Akinyemi

In a June 29, 1975 coup d’tat by junior military officers who wanted to bring Nigeria back to civilian rule General Mohammed was made Head of State succeeding General Yakubu Gowon. Although General Mohammed was involved in the July 1966 coup that took out the General Aguiyi-Ironsi regime he was not directly involved in the coup that made hime Head of State.

General Murtala Mohammed appointed Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa his Aide-de-Camp upon becoming Head of State a position reserved for senior ranking officers like a Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel effectively making Akintunde Akinsehinwa at age 30 the youngest and lowest ranking Presidential Aide-de-Camp in Nigeria’s history.

General Murtala Mohammed won popular support and quickly rose to national hero status based on his sweeping policies. General Mohammed’s motorcade was ambushed by an assassination squad in an abortive coup d’tat lead by Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka including Major Rabo, Captain Parwang and Lieutenant Seri on Friday February 13, 1976 in Ikoyi Lagos. His non bulletproof Mercedes Benz limousine was riddled with bullets instantly killing General Murtala Mohammed, his Driver and Orderly.

General Murtala Mohammed’s Limousine

Akintunde Akinsehinwa survived the initially assault exiting the limousine to return fire but was unfortunately overpowered and gunned down in a hail of bullets. An autopsy report revealed 6 bullet wounds to his back. At 31 on Friday February 13, 1976 Lieutenant Akintude Akinsehinwa became the first Aide-de-Camp to die in the line of duty while serving a Nigerian Head of State.

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