Oladipo Diya
Encyclopedia
Donaldson Oladipo Diya is a retired Lt. General in the Nigeria
n Army.
He was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State
from January 1984 to August 1985.
As Chief of the General Staff, he was the de facto
Vice President
of Nigeria
during the Sani Abacha
military junta from 1994 until he was arrested for treason
in 1997.
His Principal Staff Officer during this period was Bode George
, who went on to have a stormy career with the People's Democratic Party
after democracy was restored in 1999.
, Ogun State
, then Western Region, Nigeria
.
He was educated at the Methodist Primary School, Lagos
, the Odogbolu Grammar School, and then at the Nigerian Defence Academy
, Kaduna
. He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru
.
While serving in the military, Diya studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University
, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree, and then at the Nigerian Law School
, where he was called to bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
.
He was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State from January 1984 to August 1985.
He became General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigeria Army in 1985.
General Oladipo Diya was Commandant, National War college (1991–1993) and then was appointed as Chief of Defence Staff.
He was appointed Chief of General Staff in 1993 and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1994.
. The alleged coup was uncovered by forces loyal to Abacha, and Diya and his cohorts were jailed. Diya was tried in a military tribunal, and was given the death penalty. Upon the untimely death of Abacha in 1998, Diya was not pardoned by the late Head of State's
successor, Abdusalami Abubakar.
Most people believed that the much-hyped coup was in fact a ploy by Abacha to do away with Diya, who was increasingly becoming popular among the elite and opposition parties, for his moderate views on the situation in Nigeria. Earlier on, Abacha’s loyalists had twice attempted to assassinate Diya, once at the airport and then in the streets, using bombs. But most analysts said that whether motivated by a real coup plot or not, the arrest of General Diya signaled deep divisions within the Nigerian military and reflected rising tensions over General Abacha's apparent intention to remain in office by engineering his own election as President.
Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi
, a leading Nigerian human rights campaigner, said: Almost everybody mentioned in the alleged coup had been an Abachaboy, an Abacha henchman, so the situation is very funny. The facts are not clear to us. We want the whole truth. Late Chief Fawehinmi was quoted in The Post Express, a Lagos daily.
The fact that General Diya and almost all of the others arrested were ethnic Yoruba
from the already deeply disaffected southwest was seen by some as a virtual provocation at a time when a country of powerful regional rivalries was entering into a period of renewed civilian politicking. General Abacha, like his inner core of senior officers and much of the army's rank and file, was a Hausa
-speaking northerner.
sentenced six people including Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya to death by firing squad in April 1998. The accused were brought to the main military barracks in Jos for the trial. Security was tight, and the men on trial were chained hand and foot during the proceedings.
In a dramatic statement at the outset of the trial, General Diya asserted that he had been entrapped by another officer close to General Abacha, Gen. Musa Bamayi, who approached him with the idea of mounting a coup. Given the explosive nature of the charge, the Government then closed the trial to the public
The head of the Military tribunal, General Victor Malu
, the former commander of the West African regional peacekeeping force ECOMOG, responding to Lieutenant General Diya's defence that people at the very top framed him said it was not necessary to know who had initiated the conspiracy. He noted that all Lieutenant General Diya had to do was prove that he had not been part of the plot at any stage. General Malu assured the defendants that they would given a fair trial and unlimited access to information they needed to defend themsevles. This tribunal will not conduct or tolerate a trial by ambush, he said.
The South African Government questioned the secrecy surrounding the trial and warned of the probability that there could be an unfavorable reaction, both in Nigeria and internationally, to a carrying out of the sentences.
The sentence was later commuted by the Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar, who succeeded General Abacha.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n Army.
He was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in South-western Nigeria. It borders Lagos State to the South, Oyo and Osun states to the North, Ondo State to the east and the republic of Benin to the west. Abeokuta is the capital and largest city in the state...
from January 1984 to August 1985.
As Chief of the General Staff, he was the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
Vice President
Vice President of Nigeria
The Vice President of Nigeria is the second-in-command to the President of Nigeria in the Government of Nigeria. Officially styled Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.The Vice President is elected alongside the President in national elections...
of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
during the Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
military junta from 1994 until he was arrested for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
in 1997.
His Principal Staff Officer during this period was Bode George
Bode George
Olabode Ibiyinka George is a Nigerian politician who became Military Governor of Ondo State, and later Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, then national vice-chairman in the southwest zone of the People’s Democratic Party...
, who went on to have a stormy career with the People's Democratic Party
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Nigeria. Its policies generally lie towards the right wing of the political spectrum. It has won every single Presidential elections since 1999, namely: 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:In...
after democracy was restored in 1999.
Birth and education
Donaldson Oladipo Diya was born on 3 April 1944 at OdogboluOdogbolu
Odogbolu is a Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Odogbolu at in the north-west of the Area.It has an area of 541 km² and a population of 127,123 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 120....
, Ogun State
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in South-western Nigeria. It borders Lagos State to the South, Oyo and Osun states to the North, Ondo State to the east and the republic of Benin to the west. Abeokuta is the capital and largest city in the state...
, then Western Region, Nigeria
Western Region, Nigeria
The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...
.
He was educated at the Methodist Primary School, Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, the Odogbolu Grammar School, and then at the Nigerian Defence Academy
Nigerian Defence Academy
The Nigerian Defence Academy at Kaduna is the only Military University in Nigeria.The NDA was established in January 1964 as a reformation of the British run Royal Military Forces Training College , which had been renamed the Nigerian Military Training College on independence...
, Kaduna
Kaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...
. He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru
Kuru, Nigeria
Kuru is located on the Jos Plateau in north-central Nigeria commonly referred as the middle belt region of Nigeria. Located about 20 km to Jos on the Jos-Abuja highway in Plateau State...
.
While serving in the military, Diya studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University is the largest university in Nigeria and second largest in Africa, second only to Cairo University, Egypt. It is situated in Zaria. It was founded on October 4, 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria....
, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree, and then at the Nigerian Law School
Nigerian Law School
The Nigerian Law School was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1962 to provide a Nigerian legal education to foreign-trained lawyers, and to provide practical training for aspiring Legal Practitioners in Nigeria....
, where he was called to bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.-Overview:In 1963, the...
.
Military career
Oladipo Diya became Commander 31, Airborne Brigade.He was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State from January 1984 to August 1985.
He became General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigeria Army in 1985.
General Oladipo Diya was Commandant, National War college (1991–1993) and then was appointed as Chief of Defence Staff.
He was appointed Chief of General Staff in 1993 and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1994.
Botched coup attempt
In 1997 Diya and dissident soldiers in the military allegedly planned to overthrow the regime of Sani AbachaSani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
. The alleged coup was uncovered by forces loyal to Abacha, and Diya and his cohorts were jailed. Diya was tried in a military tribunal, and was given the death penalty. Upon the untimely death of Abacha in 1998, Diya was not pardoned by the late Head of State's
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the Head of State and head of the national executive. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The current President of Nigeria is Goodluck Jonathan.-History:On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained...
successor, Abdusalami Abubakar.
Most people believed that the much-hyped coup was in fact a ploy by Abacha to do away with Diya, who was increasingly becoming popular among the elite and opposition parties, for his moderate views on the situation in Nigeria. Earlier on, Abacha’s loyalists had twice attempted to assassinate Diya, once at the airport and then in the streets, using bombs. But most analysts said that whether motivated by a real coup plot or not, the arrest of General Diya signaled deep divisions within the Nigerian military and reflected rising tensions over General Abacha's apparent intention to remain in office by engineering his own election as President.
Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi
Gani Fawehinmi
Chief Abdul-Ganiyu "Gani" Oyesola Fawehinmi, was a Nigerian author, publisher, philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer, politician and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria .-Early life:Fawehinmi, popularly called Gani, was born on 22 April 1938, into the Fawehinmi...
, a leading Nigerian human rights campaigner, said: Almost everybody mentioned in the alleged coup had been an Abachaboy, an Abacha henchman, so the situation is very funny. The facts are not clear to us. We want the whole truth. Late Chief Fawehinmi was quoted in The Post Express, a Lagos daily.
The fact that General Diya and almost all of the others arrested were ethnic Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
from the already deeply disaffected southwest was seen by some as a virtual provocation at a time when a country of powerful regional rivalries was entering into a period of renewed civilian politicking. General Abacha, like his inner core of senior officers and much of the army's rank and file, was a Hausa
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
-speaking northerner.
Death Sentence
After his arrest. A military tribunal sitting in the Nigerian town of JosJos
Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
sentenced six people including Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya to death by firing squad in April 1998. The accused were brought to the main military barracks in Jos for the trial. Security was tight, and the men on trial were chained hand and foot during the proceedings.
In a dramatic statement at the outset of the trial, General Diya asserted that he had been entrapped by another officer close to General Abacha, Gen. Musa Bamayi, who approached him with the idea of mounting a coup. Given the explosive nature of the charge, the Government then closed the trial to the public
The head of the Military tribunal, General Victor Malu
Victor Malu
Lt. General Victor Samuel Leonard Malu DSS mni fwc psc was commander of the ECOMOG peace-keeping force in Liberia from December 1996 to April 1998, and was Chief of Army Staff from May 1999 until April 2001.-Birth and education:...
, the former commander of the West African regional peacekeeping force ECOMOG, responding to Lieutenant General Diya's defence that people at the very top framed him said it was not necessary to know who had initiated the conspiracy. He noted that all Lieutenant General Diya had to do was prove that he had not been part of the plot at any stage. General Malu assured the defendants that they would given a fair trial and unlimited access to information they needed to defend themsevles. This tribunal will not conduct or tolerate a trial by ambush, he said.
The South African Government questioned the secrecy surrounding the trial and warned of the probability that there could be an unfavorable reaction, both in Nigeria and internationally, to a carrying out of the sentences.
The sentence was later commuted by the Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar, who succeeded General Abacha.