The assassination of Nigeria’s dynamic Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, on February 13, 1976, was not just a national tragedy — it was a moment that shook the very foundation of our nationhood. The coup, led by Lieutenant Colonel Bukka Suka Dimka, was swift, brutal, and treacherous. His ambition sought to plunge the country into deeper chaos and tear apart our fragile unity.
But as our ancestors teach us, “Onye gburu nwa okorobia n’ike, mmụọ ya na-achụ ya” — he who violently kills a youth is forever pursued by that spirit. Treachery cannot prosper where integrity is the soil.
Dimka’s plot collapsed almost as quickly as it began. As loyal forces reclaimed control, the mastermind fled, seeking refuge anywhere the shadows could hide him. His desperate journey carried him far from Lagos, into the quiet fields and enduring spirit of the East.
Yet a timeless truth governs the land now known as Ebonyi State: anyị anaghị anabata ihe ọjọọ — we do not welcome evil. Our land is sacred, guarded by the principles of Ofo na Ogu, justice and moral uprightness.
The final chapter of this national crisis unfolded on March 5, 1976, right in Abakaliki. As our people say, “Aka ajọ mmadụ adịghị agba ọsọ; Chi ya adịghị agba ọsọ.” The hand of an evil person may run, but his destiny never outruns him.
It was on our soil that Dimka met the end of his escape. A vigilant, well-trained police officer recognized him — an act of courage and duty that changed the course of the nation. That officer did not look away. He embodied the Ebonyi spirit: firm, principled, and guided by an inner moral compass that no amount of national chaos could dim.
This was more than an arrest. It was a spiritual and symbolic victory. Dimka could hide from soldiers, but he could not hide from Ala, the land itself, or from the integrity woven into the hearts of our people. Ebonyi soil rejected the darkness he carried.
His capture signalled the final collapse of the coup and the restoration of national authority. Tried for treason and murder, Dimka was executed on May 15, 1976 — a decisive response that reaffirmed Nigeria’s intolerance for violent subversion.
As the then Head of State, Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo, later declared:
“The Council has confirmed the sentences passed by the Tribunal… Those condemned to death by firing squad have been executed today, including Lieutenant Colonel B.S. Dimka and Mr. J.D. Gomwalk.”
From that moment, history sealed the truth: the fate of the coup plotter was decided the day Abakaliki refused to shelter him.
For the people of Ebonyi, March 5, 1976, remains a badge of honour. It marks our land as the ground where a national crisis met its end. It is the soil where a traitor’s flight stopped, where justice aligned with destiny, and where the moral fortitude of a people proved stronger than the schemes of men.
“Omenala bụ nkwado; anyị bụ ndị eziokwu.”Culture is our backbone; we are a people of truth.
We are Ebonyians — and it is not in our nature to harbor evil.
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