Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd), has revealed that his trusted security aide, Joseph Garba, Commander of the Federal Guards Unit he appointed to protect his life, played a role in the coup that overthrew him in July 1975.

In his 859-page autobiography titled “My Life of Duty and Allegiance,” Gowon described the incident as the most painful personal betrayal of his time in office, saying it was carried out by individuals he had promoted based on trust and, in Garba’s case, family connections.

According to him, Garba had assured him just days before the coup that he had no knowledge of any plot against his government.

He also recounted that his Chief Security Officer and head of the Special Branch, M.D. Yusuf, had earlier warned him about a planned coup ahead of the OAU summit in Kampala, Uganda, naming two key officers, Garba, then Commander of the Federal Guards Unit, and Anthony Ochefu, then Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Military Police.

Gowon said the warning left him in a difficult position, noting that Garba occupied one of the most sensitive roles in his security structure, heading the elite unit responsible for the Head of State’s protection.

He added that Garba’s appointment as head of the Brigade of Guards was influenced by personal familiarity and the confidence he had in him.

“As commander of the Federal Guards, which is the elite entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the person of the Head of State, Garba was supposed to have unquestionable loyalty.

“Not only did I intimately know both men, but I had also grown to like and trust them over the years.

“Coincidentally, both were Christians and from my original home state, Benue Plateau,” he narrated.

The book, which spans 36 chapters, traces Gowon’s life from his Angas roots in Plateau State through his military career, the Civil War, his removal from office in 1975, as well as his years in exile and academic pursuit abroad.

Femi Otedola, the chairman and biggest shareholder of financial services group First HoldCo Plc, hopes to invest $100 million in the proposed private placement of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The billionaire tycoon made this known to journalists during a tour by the management team of First HoldCo to the refinery in Lagos on Wednesday.

“On a personal note, I have approved him. I’ve been here with him 25 times, so my compensation is that he’s going to allocate to me shares valued at $100 million in the private placement. That was one of the reasons I sold my shares in Geregu Power Plants — to invest in the IPO of Dangote Refinery,” Mr Otedola said of Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and owner of the refinery.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery, is raising $2 billion through a private placement targeting institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

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A similar plan to source $5 billion through an initial public offering, equivalent to 10 per cent of its valuation, is also in the works. According to a Bloomberg report this month, the refinery is targeting a valuation of around $50 billion ahead of the planned share sales.

Mr Otedola noted that he hopes to invest part of the proceeds from the divestment of his shareholding in Geregu Power, an electricity generation company he took public in October 2022, in the private placement.

He sold his stake in the power company last December in a $750 million transaction.

The refinery is looking to list the shares from the planned offers across multiple stock exchanges through cross-border listings, opening them to investors in different markets.