‘Either I Leave The Army Or You Leave’ – Retired Colonel Narrates How Buhari Threatened Him

Retired Colonel, Babatunde Bello-Fadile, Nigeria’s first military lawyer, has revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari once threatened to expel him from the military over a letter he wrote in 1981.

Bello-Fadile made the disclosure in his memoir, ‘Nine Lives: The Bello-Fadile Memoirs’, recounting his experience while serving in the Nigerian Army.

At the time, Buhari was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Infantry Division in Ibadan, Oyo State.

In the book, the retired colonel detailed his initial encounter with Buhari during a general court-martial, where several officers were found guilty of an offence.

The retired military lawyer noted that the order raised concerns, prompting him to write a letter expressing his views on the matter.

The letter, however, led to a confrontation with Buhari, who allegedly threatened to remove him from the army.

He said, “Those in guardroom then wrote petitions to the chief of army staff, who was then Lt General Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi. All the proceedings of the court-martial were reviewed, with recommendations made by Director of Personnel Services ‘A’ (DPS ‘A’), A Branch for final approval by the COAS.

“The petition from those in the guardroom, which was sent to COAS, was forwarded to A Branch for review and necessary actions.

“Brigadier Shelling endorsed it to DPS ‘A’, Colonel Ode, who, in turn, initialed it to me for action. By the time I read the petition, I was the only one in the office, with Major Demsa as the most senior officer.

“I did a draft requesting the Division to send the record of proceedings to the AHO immediately and that those officers in the guardroom should be moved to the Officers’ Mess too.”

Bello-Fadile said in the letter addressed to the division led by Buhari, he wrote that the officers should not be treated as if they were in “Germany’s gestapo custody” – and that infuriated him.

The lawyer said when he was summoned and was waiting to see the army chief, Buhari walked in and asked Wushishi’s assistant; “Is this the captain? Either I leave the army, or he will leave the army.”

Bello-Fadile said everything was resolved after he informed Wushishi that he had withdrawn the letter and apologised for using the word “gestapo”.

“That was how I was able to escape my first encounter with brigadier-general Muhammadu Buhari in 1981 unhurt, so to say,” he said.

The lawyer said years later, when Buhari was head of state, he did not want to see him at Dodan barracks, which was the seat of power at the time, adding that he had to leave Lagos to Kaduna, where he went to study obtain a PhD in international law.