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How Ibrahim Babankowa Found Tafawa Balewa’s Decomposing Body Along Lagos-Abeokuta Road

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The first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s decomposing body was found in a bush near a village along Lagos-Abeokuta road on January 21, 1966, six days after he was abducted during the January 15 1966 coup which was the first of its kind in Nigeria Ibrahim Babankowa who as at then was an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) found the bodies of Tafawa Balewa, Okotie Eboh and others. In an interview with Vanguard Newspaper, Babankowa recounted how he tracked and found the bodies…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

What was your experience like?
The saddest part of my life as a police officer was the events of January 15th -20th 1966. I was then an Assistant Superintendent of police serving at Mubi in the former Sardauna Province and thereafter, I was discharged from the police mobile force. It was while I was in Sardauna Province in December 1965 that the political crisis in the Western Region blew up.

There was anarchy and ‘Operation Wetie’ where rival political groups were spraying each other with petrol and setting their victims ablaze. Consequent to the ugly development, the Federal Government intervened and raised an anti-riot unit from the Police Refresher Course School in Kaduna, and I was posted from Mubi to Kaduna to take over the unit and given the mandate to quell the trouble in the Western Region.

Ibrahim Babankowa

Ibrahim Babankowa

How did the operations go?
I led the operation in Ibadan, and was later assigned to proceed to Owo with my men because of the brewing tension there. Later, I was asked to move the unit to Arigidi, a border town between the Northern and Western regions. While I was at Arigidi, we got a report that people were being killed at Somolu along Ikorodu Road in Lagos.

So the authorities ordered the unit again to the trouble spots in Lagos where we contained the mayhem. As part of the daily routine, we patrolled Ikorodu, Sagamu, Ibadan, and returned through Abeokuta, Sango-Ota, Agege and Ikeja. At a later stage, we experienced another outbreak of violence in Abeokuta, and were ordered to change base from Somolu to Sango-Ota to deal with the situation there.

What was the situation like at Ota?
I remained at Sango-Ota up to January 15th 1966, the day the first military coup took place in Nigeria. On the night of the coup, I was at a police checkpoint in Sango Ota when a convoy of Army Land Rover, Trucks, and two Peugeot saloon cars were moving from Lagos to Abeokuta and we had no cause to suspect anything sinister because they were military vehicles presumably on a complimentary patrol to restore order.

Little did I know that those military vehicles were indeed conveying the Nigerian leaders to their death. We were perhaps the last group of people that saw them alive. We later discovered the vehicle stopped about three kilometres away from our checkpoint and diverted into a nearby forest where they shot and killed the Prime Minister, Okotie-Eboh, and this was on a Friday night, January 15th 1966.

Tafawa Balewa
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

About an hour later these same military convoys came back and headed towards Lagos. The following morning we learnt that there was a military coup. While the chaotic situation remained, the prime minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was reportedly removed from his residence and taken to an unknown location.

How did you discover where the Prime Minister and the minister were dumped?
I got a clue on the fourth day of his death I had gone to the clinic at Sango Ota to get medication at the only clinic then in the town that equally served as General Hospital, when I picked a loose conversation between some patients at the clinic. They said in Yoruba that there was an unpleasant smell around their neighbourhood, and they didn’t know what was causing it and I later found out that those women came from a village along Abeokuta highway.

What was your reaction to the clue ?
The nature of the operations dramatically changed as I divided my anti-riot unit squad into two. I deployed a unit to comb the area, and that was how we came across the spot in the forest where we beheld a horrible spectacle.

What did you discover?
We saw the decomposing corpses of the Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Okotie –Eboh, Colonel Kur Muhammad, Colonel Abogo Largema and two others. I was shocked and reported my findings to the Inspector General immediately through the nearest police station at Ikeja Provisional Headquarters where the officer in charge, Alhaji Kafaru Tinubu, allowed me access to use the facility. I told the IG that I had sighted and identified the dead bodies of the Prime Minister and others and that I was awaiting further instructions.

Incidentally the substantive IG, the late Mr. L O Edet was on leave and the late Alhaji Kam Salem was acting. I was subsequently directed to move to the Force Headquarters and to facilitate my quick arrival he asked me to use siren when coming to Lagos.

By the time I got to Lagos, General Aguiyi Ironsi had already taken over power as the first military Head of state and located himself to the Moloney Street Force Headquarters. Before I was let in, I was disarmed by the military personnel who were there waiting for me. They seized my weapons a gun and a pistol. They also went ahead to remove my boots, belt and cap before I was marched bare footed before the Inspector General who was sitting in company of the new Head of state, General Ironsi. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

As I arrived in the office, Kam Salem did not utter a word, but General Ironsi said to me in Hausa, “officer, Ka ce kaga gawar Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa da ta wasu mutane”? meaning “Officer you said you have sighted the corpses of the Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and others”? and I said “Yes, Sir”. General Ironsi asked again “How did you know him”? and I said “ well I had worked with the Sardauna of Sokoto as his Security officer, and Sardauna and Balewa were very close, and I knew the Prime Minister very well”.

What happened thereafter?
I was marched out, and General Ironsi directed I should be detained at the Naval Base, Apapa, but the IG told him that “if you wouldn’t mind we can put him in detention here in our own custody and produce him at any hour you want him.’‘ General Ironsi accepted the IG plea, and I was hounded into detention at Yaba Police station.

At about mid night the ADC to the late Prime minister, Mr Kaftan, and the then Madaki of Bauchi who was an in-law to Alhaji Tafawa-Balewa came with an ambulance and a truck full of coffins, secured my release and directed I should lead them to the spot where the corpses were.

What happened at the forest?
We saw the mangled body of the prime minister crumbled under a tree, his cap (zanna) was lying by his right side. He wore a pure white guinea brocade gown which had already changed colour. As a result of advanced decomposition, numerous worms were coming out from his body.
We rolled over a white cloth, and had to bring my weight on his knee in order to straighten it to get a perfect position. We attended to the prime minister body first before others, and I marked his coffin with an Arabic inscription to avoid mix up.

We conveyed his remain to the VIP section of the Ikeja airport where there were two waiting aircraft. The Prime Minister’s corpse was placed in the baggage compartment of one of the aircraft which was also conveying members of his immediate family back to Bauchi for burial.

In Bauchi, we took the corpse to his family house. No one could perform the ritual of washing the corpse as stipulated by Islamic injunction because it was already decomposing, water was simply sprayed on it and final prayers offered before he was laid to rest. After the burial, the IG directed that I should proceed on annual leave, which I did.

What would you have done if you knew what was happening?
Definitely if I had known that occupants of the military vehicles were eminent Nigerian leaders been driven to their death, I would certainly have intervened.

How?
We were more in number, about 53 well-armed mobile police officers at the roadblock, and they were few soldiers in the trucks and some senior officers in a Land Rover. We would have simply overwhelmed them. They might kill some of us but we would have killed all of them, while those who might have survived the shoot out would have lived to tell the story. I would have probably been a dead man by now. I would have saved them because I would have launched an attack.

Was there no sign to suggest the identity of the occupants?
I told you there was an emergency, and a curfew in the Western Nigeria, then an army truck believed to be on complimentary patrol. How would you have thought of something sinister? Military coup was strange to us then. But if I had a clue, I would have personally intervened and that would have been a big fight between us and the military.

What do you think is responsible for the current controversy over how Sir Abubakar died?
I would not know their motive, but by experience, there must be a motive by a clique to achieve a hidden agenda. Suddenly a man spoke, another one lent credence to the first speaker, then another repeated it. You ask yourself where did he see the corpse?

Where? How and the state of the bodies because I discovered them and guarded them until they were finally evacuated for burial. The other people who can lay claim to have seen the corpses were those patriotic officers that I went there with and the Madaki of Bauchi, Maitama Sule, Mr Tapgun, the ADC to the late Prime Minister, and a few military doctors who accompanied us with the coffin.

How is the North viewing this controversy?
I am convinced there is more to it than meets the eye. There is an undertone. I want to believe it’s a group thing, and would not be surprised if another person comes to dish out lies to the public again.

Were you surprised by the Mathew Mbu’s statement?
It is unfortunate. Look at a man like Matthew Mbu who at the age of less than 30 years was appointed Nigerian Ambassador to UK by Tafawa Balewa only to come and say what he said. Is Matthew Mbu a medical doctor to certify the cause of death? If the Prime Minister died of asthma as he erroneously reported, would he have been possible for him to give up the ghost in the bush with a cabinet member and some military officers on the eve of the first military coup?. The argument is not logical, and its sheer rubbish for people of high intellect to get involved in a pedestrian argument bereft of sound reasoning. Matthew Mbu doesn’t know anything about the issue he has raised. SOURCE

 

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Lady Caught Feeding Neighbor’s Baby With Faeces & Urine Speaks From Prison, Gives This Ugly Reason

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A woman named Stella Namwanje was arrested in Uganda for allegedly committing an atrocious act against her neighbor’s baby. Reports indicate that she was caught on video defecating and urinating on the infant before feeding him the waste. This shocking behavior has drawn widespread condemnation and raised serious concerns about the child’s welfare…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

The incident took place in the Binyonyi A area of the Nyendo-Mukungwe division. Local authorities acted swiftly after the disturbing footage circulated on social media, prompting community outrage. The police have since taken Namwanje into custody to investigate the circumstances surrounding her actions and ensure the safety of the child.

The case has sparked discussions about the need for stronger measures to protect vulnerable individuals, especially children, from abuse. It highlights the alarming reality of child torture and the psychological issues that may drive such behavior. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

As the investigation unfolds, the community is rallying to support the affected family and prevent similar incidents in the future. The legal proceedings against Namwanje will likely focus on the extent of her actions and the necessary repercussions for such a heinous crime.

 

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Watch Full Videos Of Equatorial Guinea official arrested over 400 sex tapes with VIPs’ wives, sisters

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The Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Engonga, has been arrested for allegedly recording over 400 sextapes of the wives of notable people in the country.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old Economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

The videos reportedly include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Inspector General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives.

The footage, discovered in his personal office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

In a report by a local media platform, Ahora EG, since last October, Engonga has been involved in a sexual scandal unprecedented in the history of Equatorial Guinea.

The former ANIF DG better known as “Bello” had sexual relations with several women, some of them married, and filmed these intimate encounters.

The report read, “The most striking thing is that some scenes took place in his work office, including moments in which he is seen sleeping with a woman next to the National Flag. Based on this sexual scandal, the Executive has stated that the measure is a direct response to the acts that have affected the image of the country.

“With these new measures, the Government hopes to establish a clear precedent on the expected conduct of public officials in order to create a more respectful work environment in the public and private administration of Equatorial Guinea. For days now, erotic videos have been circulating on social media featuring Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA, better known as “Bello”, who is currently the Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) and is currently imprisoned for alleged corruption issues.

“Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA is said to have filmed these scenes with the consent of the women themselves, which exonerates him from a possible crime of violation of integrity. In the videos, he is seen having unprotected sex with several women, including those married to powerful and well-known people in the country, but also with the most “diva and influential” single women in Equatorial Guinea. Some scenes take place in hotel rooms, houses, even in the protagonist’s office at the Ministry of Finance,” it added. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

However, speaking on the viral sextapes, the Attorney General of the country, Nzang Nguema, has stressed that, although the images suggest that the women involved were not forced to participate, the law does not consider consensual sexual relations to be a crime, unless coercion or violence is proven. This highlights the importance of victims reporting situations of sexual abuse or assault.

Nguema also emphasised that the risk is not only for the women involved but also for their partners and the wider community, adding, “The possibility of a contagious disease being spread through these sexual interactions makes the situation even more critical.

He further pointed out that the onus is on victims to come forward in cases of rape or assault, highlighting the need for an environment where people feel safe and supported to report such incidents.

Reacting to the development on Monday, Equatorial Guinea has decided to take action by immediately suspending all officials who have had sexual relations in the offices of the country’s ministries.

The government claimed that the decision was part of its “zero tolerance” policy towards behaviour that compromises the integrity of the public service.

The Vice President of the Republic, Nguema Mangue, has pointed out that these behaviours constitute a flagrant violation of the Code of Conduct and the Public Ethics Law.

In his publication on X, he emphasized that “ethics and respect are fundamental in our Administration,” and that irresponsible attitudes that put citizen trust at risk will not be allowed.

 

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Watch: Check-out What Elderly Man Did To Woman Breastfeeding In Taxi, That Spark Public Furor

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In a bizarre and shocking incident that has captured the attention of the Limpopo community, a young mother—referred to as a “baby mama”—experienced a traumatic interruption while breastfeeding her infant in a taxi. The unsettling event unfolded late last week, leaving witnesses in disbelief and raising critical questions about public decency and personal boundaries.

According to reports, the mother was traveling in a taxi when she fell asleep while nursing her baby. This intimate act, usually a moment of peace and connection, was abruptly disrupted when an elderly man, seated nearby, allegedly reached over and attempted to snatch the breast from the baby, declaring he was “hungry.” Eyewitnesses were left stunned as they witnessed this surreal and distressing scene…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Passengers in the taxi reacted with immediate outrage. “It was like a scene from a horror movie,” one witness recalled. “We all started shouting and trying to intervene. It was shocking to see someone act in such a disturbing manner.” The taxi driver, realizing the seriousness of the situation, pulled over and called the authorities for assistance.

Upon waking to the chaos, the mother confronted the elderly man, expressing her disbelief and anger. “This was supposed to be a nurturing moment for my child and me. I never expected someone would think it was okay to do that,” she said, visibly shaken. Her strong response resonated with the other passengers, who rallied around her in support.

Local police arrived quickly, apprehending the elderly man and ensuring the safety of the mother and her baby. As the incident spread across social media, it sparked widespread condemnation and discussions about the challenges breastfeeding mothers face in public. Many advocates are calling for stronger societal norms to protect mothers during such vulnerable moments. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

The incident has prompted a broader conversation about personal boundaries and the need for greater respect for breastfeeding in public spaces. Advocacy groups in Limpopo are urging community members to foster an environment where mothers can nurse their children without fear of harassment or disrespect.

As the community grapples with the implications of this unsettling event, it serves as a stark reminder of the importance of safeguarding personal boundaries and protecting vulnerable individuals. The young mother’s experience highlights an urgent need for education and awareness about breastfeeding rights, as well as the necessity of maintaining a respectful public space for all parents.

This incident has not only left a mark on the local community but also calls for a collective effort to ensure that such violations of personal space are not tolerated, reinforcing the message that nurturing a child is a natural and essential part of motherhood deserving of respect and protection.

 

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