By Peter.
Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), who previously served as Chief of Staff to former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’Adua, has passed away.
The 86-year-old, a native of Ilorin in Kwara State, died around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Abuja, according to family sources who spoke to The PUNCH in Ilorin. They described his death as a profound loss for the Ilorin Emirate, the Nigerian military, and the country as a whole.
Born in 1939, the late General Mohammed trained at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1958. He climbed the ranks to become Director of Military Intelligence and was instrumental in the 1975 coup that ousted General Yakubu Gowon, paving the way for General Murtala Mohammed’s leadership.
After the regime change, he was named Governor of Benue-Plateau State, holding the post from July 1975 to March 1976. During General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military rule, Mohammed headed the National Security Organisation (NSO)—the forerunner of the current Department of State Services (DSS)—until his retirement in 1979.
Post-retirement, he entered the private sector, taking the helm as Managing Director of Atoto Press Limited, a prominent printing firm in Ilorin.
In 1998, he was brought back into government service as National Security Adviser to Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, serving until the return to democracy in 1999. With the start of the Fourth Republic, he became Chief of Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo and continued in that capacity under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua until stepping down in June 2008.
Throughout his distinguished career, Mohammed earned a reputation as a highly disciplined officer, effective administrator, and discreet yet influential figure in Nigeria’s political and security spheres.
The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) has mourned the retired General’s death as an immense blow to both the Emirate and the nation. In a statement released by National Publicity Secretary Nurudeen Ibrahim on behalf of National President Alhaji Abdulmumini Abdullahi, the union called his passing “especially heartbreaking at a moment when Nigeria desperately needs the insight of proven patriots to overcome its trials.”
The IEDPU highlighted his trailblazing achievements: the first Ilorin indigene to govern a state and the first to reach the rank of Major General in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“General Mohammed shaped pivotal chapters of our nation’s story,” the statement read. “A true patriot, he worked tirelessly to preserve Nigeria’s unity, later serving as National Security Adviser and as the inaugural—and longest-tenured—Chief of Staff to the President.”
It also noted his longstanding support for the union, including years of sponsoring the free production of its annual calendar.
The IEDPU offered heartfelt condolences to President Bola Tinubu, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, following the loss of this eminent son of Ilorin.
Abdullahi prayed for Allah’s mercy on the departed, asking that his faults be forgiven and that he be granted paradise, while seeking comfort and resilience for his family and all who mourn him.
