LIEUTENANT COLONEL PATRICK CHUKWUMA ‘KADUNA’ NZEOGWU

LIEUTENANT COLONEL PATRICK CHUKWUMA ‘KADUNA’ NZEOGWU

Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuma ‘Kladuna’ Nzeogwu was killed on July 29, 1967 near Nsukka, in Enugu state. He was trapped in an ambush near Nsukka while conducting a night reconnaissance operation against federal troops of the 21st battalion led by Capt. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi.

Nzeogwu who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by the Biafran Army was killed in action and his corpse was subsequently identified.

However, his elder sister insisted that Chukwuma killed himself to avoid being humiliated by the rampaging federal troops.

In Nzeogwu’s sister words, “Chukwuma told me few days back that I will rather kill myself than subjecting to the humiliating hands of federal troops.”

The troop led by Capt. Mohammed Wushishi of the 21st Battalion opened fire at the armoured car and almost when Nzeogwu and his men were at the verge of escaping, the federal troop made use of the fearsome 106mm recoilless rifle which eventually pierced through the armoured car they were using for the operation.

Nzeogwu’s corpse was identified by Lieutenant Abdullahi Shellen who ordered for the corpse to be properly stored in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

However, Lieutenant Abdullahi arrived the university Campus to realise that the two eyes of Nzeogwu had been plucked out in what appears to have been a ritual mutilation.

Lieutenant Abdullahi also recounted that the soldier who shot Nzeogwu, was his former bat man in the Army.

Nzeogwu died at age 30 and his corpse was flown to Military Cemetery in Kaduna and buried with full millitary honours.

According to Domkat Bali; “Even in death, Nzeogwu was still respected by the federal and Northern troops.” Bali, also tagged Nzeogwu as one of the best and gallant Nigerian Soldiers ever.

Nzeogwu who led the January 15 1966 uprising in Kaduna, was a devout Catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and who despite being a bachelor, did not spend much time chasing women. He spoke Igbo and Hausa languages fluently.

His grave is still in Kaduna till date with his name wrongly spelt on his grave stone written as Major K C ‘Chukuma Nzegwu’.

He hailed from Okpanam, near Asaba, in the present Delta State