Abdullahi Mohammed

Abdullahi Mohammed is a retired Nigerian Army Major General, who served as Chief of Staff to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar'Adua from 1999 to 2008; National Security Adviser to General Abdusalami Abubakar from 1998 to 1999; Director General of the National Security Organization from 1976 to 1979; and Governor of Benue-Plateau State, Nigeria from July 1975 to February 1976 during the military regime of General Murtala Mohammed.[1]

Abdullahi Mohammed
Chief of Staff to the President
In office May 1999 – 2 June 2008
President	Olusegun Obasanjo
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Gbolade Osinowo
National Security Adviser
In office June 1998 – May 1999
President	Abdulsalami Abubakar
Preceded by	Ismaila Gwarzo
Succeeded by	Aliyu Mohammed Gusau
Director of the National Security Organisation
In office March 1976 – October 1979
President	Olusegun Obasanjo
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Umaru Shinkafi
Governor of Benue-Plateau State
In office July 1975 – March 1976
President	Murtala Mohammed
Preceded by	Joseph Gomwalk
Succeeded by	Abdullahi Shelleng (Benue) Dan Suleiman (Plateau)
Personal details
Born	1939 Ilorin, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now Illorin, Nigeria)
Alma mater	Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Military service
Allegiance	Nigeria
Branch/service	Nigerian Army
Years of service	1958–1979
Rank	Major General

Murtala and Obasanjo years

In July 1975, Mohammed was Director of Military Intelligence, and formed and executed the 1975 Nigerian coup d'état plan with other officers including Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Joseph Nanven Garba, Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Taiwo to depose General Yakubu Gowon, after which they transferred power to General Murtala Muhammed as head of state.[2]

[3] Immediately after the coup, he was appointed Governor of Benue Plateau State.[4]

After Olusegun Obasanjo had taken over control, he recalled Mohammed in March 1976, and appointed him to the Supreme Military Council as Director General of the Nigeria Security Organisation with the additional responsibility for police security.[5] Later he was made director of military intelligence.

Second Republic

After General Olusegun Obasanjo handed over to elected civilians at the start of the Nigerian Second Republic in 1979, Muhammed retired from the army. He went into private business, becoming managing director of Atoto Press in Ilorin.[6]

National Security Adviser

In 1998, General Abdusalami Abubakar who took over as head of state after the death of General Sani Abacha, removed Ismaila Gwarzo and appointed Mohammed as National Security Adviser.

Fourth Republic

In 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo made Mohammed his chief of staff, and President Umaru Yar'Adua re-appointed Mohammed as Chief of Staff when he assumed office on May 29, 2007. Mohammed resigned on 2 June 2008.[6]

References

1. "Nigerian States". WorldStatesmen. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
2. Nowa Omoigui. "Military Rebellion of July 29, 1975: The coup against Gowon - Part 9". Dawodu. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
3. Ebenezer Babatope (7 November 2004). "Nigeria's Quest for Stability: The Challenges Ahead (3)". Vanguard. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
4. Max Siollun (2009). Oil, politics and violence: Nigeria's military coup culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing. p. 233. ISBN 0-87586-708-1.
5. S. K. Panter-Brick, Simone K. Panter-Brick (1978). Soldiers and oil: the political transformation of Nigeria. Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 0-7146-3098-5.
6. Juliana Taiwo (2008-05-30). "Yar'Adua's Chief of Staff, Mohammed, Resigns". ThisDay). Retrieved 2010-05-15.