- Lawan Gwadabe was arrested, detained over attempt to overthrow the Abacha regime
- Irate Nigerians bombed two police stations with gasoline
- Security operatives killed 200 bandits in Mariga, Niger State
- Gunmen killed five in Ohafiia, Abia
According to Malcolm X, history is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.
Every historical detail deserves to be secured. We must treat every detail either good or bad as priceless because they represent a good part of us. As we project for the future, we must not abandon the gains or losses of the past.
In an effort to raise awareness or preserve our memories as citizens of this country through reflection of past events, WITHIN NIGERIA has highlighted four notable or significant events that shaped every March 1 in Nigeria’s history.
Lawan Gwadabe was arrested, detained over attempt to overthrow the Abacha regime
Colonel Lawan Gwadabe was detained on this day, March 1, 1995, on suspicion of attempting to overthrow the Abacha administration.
The National Guard’s Commander was chosen as Gwadabe. Three senior army officers detained Ernest Shonekan, the interim president of Nigeria appointed by General Ibrahim Babangida, on November 17, 1993. They were accompanied by a National Guard unit led by Colonel Gwadabe. General Sani Abacha came to power as a result of the coup.
Brigadier Abubakar Dada was succeeded as Chief of Staff of the Gambian Army by Gwadabe. He temporarily served as General Sani Abacha’s Chief Staff Officer upon his return to Nigeria following the Yahya Jammeh coup in Gambia in July 1994 before being named Commander of the 23rd Armored Brigade.
He was detained, subjected to torture, and ultimately found guilty of treason along with others after being charged of preparing a coup against the Abacha regime. When Abacha tragically passed away in June 1998, he was in the death row. Years later, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, Abacha’s chief of staff, stated that he believed the alleged coup plot to be untrue.
Gwadabe and other others charged with preparing coups against General Sani Abacha received a state pardon from the transitional military administration of General Abdulsalami Abubakar in March 1999. President Umaru Yar’Adua fully pardoned Gwadabe and other individuals in June 2009.
Irate Nigerians bombed two police stations with gasoline
On this day in 1999, March 1, some irate Nigerians bombed two police stations with gasoline.
Two persons, including a police officer, died as a result of this unfortunate tragedy, and four others suffered serious injuries.
The incident was attributed to a group known as Odudua, which desires a separate nation for the Yoruba tribe of southwest Nigeria.
Security operatives killed 200 bandits in Mariga, Niger State
On this day, March 1, 2022, security personnel murdered over 200 armed criminals during a gunfight that broke out between JST members and the criminals in the Rafi and Mariga Local Government Areas.
This was revealed at a meeting with journalists in Minna by the state’s commissioner for local government chieftaincy affairs and internal, Mr. Emmanuel Bagna Umar.
According to him, the bandits were murdered between Sunday and Wednesday in the Kundu axis of the Rafi and Babanlaba side of the Mariga local governments, as well as other areas of the state.
Gunmen killed five in Ohafiia, Abia
Five people were reportedly presumed dead on this date in 2022, March 1, in Amangwu Ohafia, in the Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State, as a result of a conflict that broke out in the area.
The aforementioned situation, which resulted in the deaths of the five people and the damage of property, was described in two different ways.
According to the initial report, members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) raided the neighborhood and attacked the local Vigilante organization.
Their complaint was reported to be that vigilante members had been giving security agents information about their operations in the area, which caused them to face frequent attacks from the said security personnel.
