Abdullahi Mohammed, former chief of staff to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’Adua, has passed away at the age of 86. Mohammed, a retired general, died in the early hours of Wednesday in Abuja.
Born in 1939 in Ilorin, Kwara State, Mohammed began his military career at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and played a pivotal role in the 1975 coup that ousted Yakubu Gowon.
Mohammed served as the director of military intelligence, governor of Benue-Plateau State, and director-general of the National Security Organisation (NSO), the precursor to the Department of State Services (DSS).
After retiring from the military, he transitioned into the private sector before returning to public service as national security adviser to Abdulsalami Abubakar and later chief of staff to Obasanjo and Yar’Adua.
The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) described Mohammed’s death as a monumental loss, praising his pioneering roles and contributions to Nigeria’s history.
Mohammed 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 nation’s armed forces.
