Former Chief of Staff to ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), is dead.
Naijaonpoint reports that Mohammed, who hailed from Ilorin, Kwara State, reportedly died around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Abuja at the age of 86.
Family sources confirmed his passing to Punch, describing it as “a huge loss to the Ilorin Emirate, the nation, and the Nigerian military community.”
Born in 1939, Mohammed trained at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1958.
He rose through the ranks to become Director of Military Intelligence and was a key participant in the 1975 coup that ousted General Yakubu Gowon, paving the way for General Murtala Mohammed’s rise to power.
Following the coup, he was appointed Governor of Benue-Plateau State, serving from July 1975 to March 1976. Under General Obasanjo’s military government, he later became the Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO), precursor to the Department of State Services (DSS), from 1976 to 1979.
After retiring in 1979, he ventured into private business and became Managing Director of Atoto Press Limited, a prominent printing firm in Ilorin.
In 1998, Mohammed was recalled to national duty as National Security Adviser to then Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, overseeing the transition to civilian rule in 1999.
At the onset of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, he was appointed Chief of Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo and later retained by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua until his resignation in June 2008.
Throughout his long career, Mohammed was known for his discipline, discretion, and influence, earning a reputation as one of Nigeria’s most respected administrators and power brokers.
Ilorin Emirate Mourns
The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) described his death as a “monumental loss to the Ilorin Emirate and Nigeria at large.”
In a condolence message issued by the union’s National Publicity Secretary, Nurudeen Ibrahim, on behalf of National President Alhaji Abdulmumini Abdullahi, the IEDPU said, “The death of the elder statesman is even more painful at this critical time when the nation needs the wisdom of tested patriots to navigate its challenges.”
The union hailed him as a trailblazer, noting that he was the first son of Ilorin to serve as a state governor and the first to attain the rank of a two-star General in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“General Mohammed played critical roles in Nigeria’s history. He was a patriot who fought to keep the country united and later served as National Security Adviser and the first and longest-serving Chief of Staff to the President,” the statement read.
The IEDPU also recalled his longstanding support for the community, including sponsoring the printing of its annual calendar for several years.
It extended condolences to President Bola Tinubu, former leaders Olusegun Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, describing Mohammed as “a devoted son of Ilorin who served Nigeria selflessly.”
“We pray Almighty Allah to forgive his shortcomings, grant him Aljanat Firdaus, and give his family and loved ones the strength to bear this irreparable loss,” Abdullahi added.
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