By Obinna Uballa
Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), a powerful figure in Nigeria’s military, political and security establishment who served as the pioneer Director General of the defunct Nigeria Security Organisation (today’s DSS and NIA), has died at the age of 86.
The former Chief of Staff to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua reportedly passed away around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Abuja. His family in Ilorin confirmed the loss, describing it as a “huge blow to the Ilorin Emirate, the nation and the military community.”
Born in 1939, Mohammed trained at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1958. He rose to become Director of Military Intelligence and played a significant role in the 1975 coup that removed General Yakubu Gowon and ushered in General Murtala Mohammed.
Following the coup, he served as Governor of the former Benue-Plateau State from July 1975 to March 1976. Under General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military regime, he was appointed Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO), the predecessor of today’s Department of State Services (DSS), and held the post until 1979.
After retiring, Mohammed moved into private business and headed Atoto Press Limited in Ilorin. However, in 1998, he was recalled to public service as National Security Adviser to General Abdulsalami Abubakar, where he helped manage the transition to civilian rule in 1999.
At the return of democracy, Mohammed became Chief of Staff to President Obasanjo and continued in the role under President Yar’Adua until he stepped down in June 2008. He was widely regarded as a disciplined officer, a strategic administrator and one of the most influential behind-the-scenes actors in Nigerian governance.
Ilorin Emirate Mourns
The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) described his passing as a “monumental national loss.”
In a condolence statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Nurudeen Ibrahim, the union noted that Mohammed was the first indigene of Ilorin to serve as a state governor and the first to become a two-star General.
“General Mohammed played pivotal roles at crucial moments in Nigeria’s history – as a soldier who fought to keep the nation united, as a security chief, and as the longest-serving Chief of Staff to the President,” the statement read.
The union also acknowledged his long-standing support, including sponsoring the printing of its annual calendars for many years.
Condolences have been extended to President Bola Tinubu, former Presidents Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
The IEDPU prayed that Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljanah Firdaus, while also asking for divine comfort for his family and the Ilorin community.
