22/11/2025
Lieutenant Colonel Bukka S**a Dimka, a Nigerian Army officer, was publicly executed at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, Lagos, on 15 May 1976 for his involvement in the assassination of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, then Head of State. Dimka was the key figure behind the failed coup of 13 February 1976, during which General Murtala Muhammed was ambushed and killed on his way to Dodan Barracks in Lagos.
The coup began with Dimka airing a pre-recorded announcement on Radio Nigeria, claiming the government had been overthrown because of corruption and poor leadership. However, the plot quickly unraveled as most military units across Nigeria remained loyal to the government. Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, and Major General T. Y. Danjuma, Chief of Army Staff, acted promptly to regain control.
After the failed coup, Dimka fled Lagos and went into hiding. He was later captured on March 5, 1976, in Abakaliki (now in Ebonyi State) after being identified by a police officer. He was court-martialed alongside several alleged collaborators, including former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, who was accused of giving moral support to the plot and was tried in absentia since he was in the UK at the time. Numerous military officers and civilians were implicated in the investigations.
The Armed Forces Ruling Council found Dimka guilty of treason and murder. He was executed publicly along with other convicted participants as the Obasanjo administration aimed to send a strong warning against military insurrections. The incident remains one of the most significant reactions to a coup attempt in Nigeria’s history and helped strengthen Obasanjo’s authority during the transition that eventually led to civilian rule in 1979.
