Femi Fani-Kayode Remembers 1966 Coup Attack On His Family

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has opened up about his harrowing experience during the 1966 military coup when soldiers invaded his family residence and abducted his late father, Chief Remilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode.

The elder Fani-Kayode, who was the Deputy Premier of the Old Western Region and the Balogun of Ife, was taken by mutineers in a violent raid that nearly claimed the lives of his children.

Fani-Kayode, who was just six years old at the time, recounted the traumatic event in a piece written for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

He described how the attack began around 2:00 a.m. when soldiers stormed their home, cutting off the power supply and plunging the house into darkness.

“My mother came into the bedroom which I shared with my older brother and younger sister. The lights had been cut off by the mutineers, so we were in complete darkness, and all we could see and hear were the headlights of about four heavy trucks,” Fani-Kayode wrote.

He recalled hearing the soldiers calling his father’s name and ordering him to come out of the house. As his father stepped outside, the soldiers beat and tied him up before throwing him into one of the trucks, ransacking the home in the process.

“They were very brutal and frightful, and we were terrified. They ransacked every nook and cranny, shooting into the ceiling and wardrobes,” Fani-Kayode said.

His mother, unable to intervene, screamed and cried from the balcony, desperately watching as her husband was taken.

In the midst of the chaos, Fani-Kayode described a moment of unexpected kindness. Surrounded by uniformed men terrorizing his family, he stood in the hallway when one soldier approached him. The soldier placed his hand on the boy’s head and reassured him.

“Don’t worry, we won’t kill your father, stop crying,” the soldier told him, repeating the words three times. Fani-Kayode explained how the soldier’s compassion gave him hope, calming his fears.

He said, “I looked in his eyes and I stopped crying. This was because he gave me hope and he spoke with kindness and compassion.

“At that point, all the fear and trepidation left me.”

With renewed confidence, he rushed to his mother, still crying on the balcony, and assured her that the soldier had promised they would not kill his father.

Fani-Kayode identified the soldier as Captain Nwobosi and credited him with saving his father’s life. He believed that God used Nwobosi to deliver a divine message. His father was eventually freed, and Fani-Kayode reflected on how that moment shaped his life.

“If my father was killed, maybe I would not have been educated and be where I am today,” he stated.

Fani-Kayode concluded his reflection by praying for the souls of those lost during the 1966 coup and for God to help make Nigeria great again, highlighting the deep personal and national significance of the events that shaped his life.