Theophilus Danjuma

Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a Nigerian politician and retired lieutenant general who played a key role in post independence military and political events in Nigeria.

Danjuma amassed an enormous fortune through shipping and petroleum.

Theophilus Danjuma started his education at St Bartholomew's Primary School in Wusasa and moved on to the Benue Provincial Secondary School in Katsina-Ala where he was the captain of the school cricket 1st XI team; he received his Higher School Certificate in 1958.

In 1959, Danjuma enrolled at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Zaria (Ahmadu Bello University) to study history on a Northern Nigeria Scholarship.

However, by the end of 1960, Danjuma had left the university to enroll in the Nigerian Army.

Danjuma was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as second lieutenant and platoon commander in the Congo.

In 1963, he joined a UN Peace-keeping force in Sante, Katanga Province in Congo.

He was promoted to the position of captain three years later.

In 1966, Captain Danjuma was involved in the counter-coup with the 4th Battalion in Mokola, Ibadan General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was arrested in Ibadan, together with his host General Adekunle Fajuyi, by northern soldiers under the command of Major Theophilus Danjuma (as he then was).

Both men were then whisked away and taken to a road side bush where they were both stripped naked and shot.

On the 29th of July 1966, Danjuma along with Murtala Mohammed, Buka Suka Dimka, Muhammadu Buhari, Sani Abacha, Musa Usman, Ibrahim Taiwo, Ibrahim Bako, Ibrahim Babangida, among others, participated in a bloody mutiny called "July Rematch" in retaliation to the killing of federal officials in Nigeria's first coup.

Danjuma picked up Nigeria's first military Head of State General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and first military Governor of the former Western Region Lt Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi (who was hosting Aguiyi-Ironsi at his residence in Ibadan) from the side of the road, as there were escaping an ambush orchestrated by Danjuma, Mohammed, Dimka, Buhari and others.

Danjuma held them captive in the back of his car and drove off to an isolated area in Oyo state, where he ordered them to get out and shot them in cold blood.

Although Theophilus Danjuma has denied claims that he was one of the masterminds of the needless coup d'ètat that saw the ruins of Nigeria and the death of over 3.5 million Eastern Nigerians, multiple evidence including a confession from his former aide-de-camp Sani Bello and A.B Umaru recalls the night of the ordeal in details during their interview with The Guardian News on the transgressions they participated in, remembering vividly sounds of gun shots Danjuma fired that would fatally end the live and reign of General Aguiyi-Ironsi and see the succession of Yakubu Gowon as Head of State of the Republic of Nigeria.

In 1967, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the start of the civil war campaign towards Enugu, which was captured later that year.

In December 1967, he was appointed Commander of the Nigerian Army's 1st Infantry Brigade, a position he held till July 1968.

Towards the end of the Nigerian Civil War, Danjuma led a battalion that freed Jaja Wachuku, first Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives and the first Ambassador to the United Nations and first Foreign Affairs Minister, from detention by the Ojukwu government.

In 1970, Danjuma attended the International Court Martial in Trinidad and Tobago as Nigeria's representative, where he was appointed president of the tribunal in a case brought against members of a failed coup attempt in Trinidad and Tobago.

Following his promotion to Colonel in 1971 he spent next two years with responsibility for court-martialling Army officers proven guilty of corruption and indiscipline.

He was Chief of Army Staff from July 1975 to October 1978.

He was also Minister of Defence under President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration.

Danjuma was born in Takum, Taraba State (formally Gongola), Nigeria, to Kuru Danjuma and Rufkatu Asibi.

Takum was mainly a farming community when Danjuma was young, and yams, rice, cassava, and beniseed were largely cultivated by families and clans.

His father was a hardworking peasant whose ancestors were all highly respected members of the community.

Kuru Danjuma was a farmer who traded metal parts for farming implements and tools.

In 1975, he was promoted to Brigadier and the position of General Officer Commanding (GOC), and in the following year he became the Chief of Army Staff to the Head of State Olusegun Obasanjo.

He played a prominent role in supporting the president in resisting the Dimka Coup in 1976.

He retired from the Nigerian army in 1979.

Formed in 1979 by General TY Danjuma (Rtd), Nigeria American Line (NAL) began business and initially leased a ship called 'Hannatu' which traded between Lagos and Santos in Brazil when Nigeria's bilateral trade agreement had opened the sea routes to economies in the South American markets.

NAL went on to win patronage from Nigeria's National Supply Company (NNSC) to bring in government goods.

NAL's list of growing clients included DICON Salt (Nigeria), project cargoes for Iwopin Paper Mill, ANNAMCO and Volkswagen Nigeria.

NAL became a member of AWAFC (American West African Freight Conference), Brazil-Nigeria Freight Conference and the Mediterranean Line (MEWAC).

NAL began with a core indigenous staff of about 12 in 1979.

COMET Shipping Agencies Nigeria Limited was established in 1984 by Danjuma, primarily to act as an agent for Nigeria American Line (NAL).

COMET has grown and by the late nineties became one of the largest independent agents operating in Nigeria with experience in handling many types of vessels and cargo.

With the formation of the National Maritime Authority (NMA) in 1987/88, the profile of NAL increased as NMA encouraged indigenous operators to claim their share of internationally traded cargo involving Nigeria.

In 2005, NAL-COMET acquired a roll-in-roll-out port (RORO) in Lagos which makes it the largest independent port operators in Africa.

In 2009, staff in NAL-COMET were closer to 250 including approximately 12 expatriate staff members.

From the Lagos office the NAL-COMET Group has opened branch offices in Port Harcourt which serves Onne, Warri and Calabar seaports.

In 2009, Comet handled over 200 vessels at the ports of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri.