In the night of January 13, 1966, in the city of Kaduna. There was no sound of soldiers moving, no rumble of trucks—only a cold wind blowing through the pitch-black night.
But within the grounds of the Nigerian Military Training College, something major was being prepared.
Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, the senior military instructor at the college, had launched what he called Exercise Damisa—a deception drill that would morph into something that shook Nigeria's history forever.
The soldiers under his command believed it was merely a night assault training exercise. Everyone collected their training gear, put on their uniforms, expecting to return safely as usual.
As the exercise commander, Nzeogwu led his troops into the night without anyone suspecting a thing. No one knew this was not a drill—it was a coup plot.
From Drill to Bloodshed
The next day, January 14th, Exercise Damisa continued. But this time, every soldier was issued live ammunition. Unbeknownst to them, the orders had been secretly changed:
it was not a drill they would conduct—it was a real attack.
From midnight until the morning of January 15th, Exercise Damisa transformed into a bloody coup.
The force was divided into three groups, each with a specific mission in Kaduna.
The Kaduna Assaults
· The first group, led by Nzeogwu with three sergeants, headed for the residence of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello—the prominent leader of the North and one of Nigeria's foremost politicians.
· The second group, under Captain Ben Gbulie, was ordered to seize the 1st Brigade Headquarters, along with the radio and communication stations.
· The third group, led by Major Timothy Onwuatuegwu, targeted the homes of Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun and Colonel Ralph Shodeinde—senior military officers on the list of those to be eliminated.
The Assassination of the Sardauna
At about 2:00 AM, anti-tank shells were fired into the Sardauna's residence. The noise shook the entire neighborhood.
Inside the house, Sir Ahmadu Bello was with his family. He instantly realized this was no ordinary occurrence.
When the soldiers forced their way in, Zarumi, the Sardauna's trusted guard, leapt forward with only a dagger in hand to protect his master.
But he was riddled with bullets until he died.
Immediately, the Sardauna was shot—he fell to the ground. Amidst this chaos, Hajiya Hafsatu Ahmadu Bello, one of his wives, refused to flee.
In love and devotion, she threw herself over her husband to shield him. A bullet struck her—she died by his side.
Outside, Ahmed Ben Musa, the Sardauna's chief security secretary, heard the gunfire. He drove out in his car to investigate—but was ambushed and shot dead.
Simultaneously, Major Onwuatuegwu and his men reached Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun's house. They overpowered the guards and entered the home. The Brigadier was lying down with his wife Latifat, who was pregnant.
Without delay or mercy, they opened fire on them—both died instantly.
Some reports even state this happened in front of their two children.
Later, their son Tokunbo Ademulegun confirmed he witnessed parts of the incident—recalling the sound of guns and his mother's screams.
The Murder of the Military College Commander
Next, the soldiers headed to the house of Colonel Ralph Shodeinde, the military college commander.
Reports differ:
Some say a grenade was thrown at him;
Others say he was shot by Nzeogwu and Onwuatuegwu together.His wife later confirmed this second version.
Whichever way it happened, it was tragic—the military college commander was killed by the hands of his former students.
In other parts of Kaduna, Captain Ben Gbulie and his team acted swiftly.
Within a few hours, they had seized the brigade headquarters, the NBC radio station, and the telephone exchange. Communication lines were cut. The military chain of command was broken.
Kaduna—the stronghold of the Northern military—had fallen into the hands of the coup plotters. On that tense morning, it seemed as though the North was finished.
But as Kaduna lay in blood and confusion, this was where the coup truly began. Simultaneously, Lagos and Southern Nigeria were also ablaze.
What started in Kaduna under the name Exercise Damisa became the event that shook the entire nation. Treachery had manifested within the very military, and Nigeria awoke to a new era written in blood.