Due to his simplicity, General Murtala Muhammed was killed along with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa, on February 13, 1976 in a failed coup attempt led by Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka. Since there was no water-tight security around him, Murtala’s car was ambushed while on his way to his office at Dodan Barracks, Lagos. He was succeeded by the then Chief of Staff, Supreme HQ, Olusegun Obasanjo. Dimka was later executed along with many others for Murtala’s assassination
The late Head of State who was well loved, took power on July 30, 1975 in a bloodless coup against Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s administration. Gowon was overthrown while at an OAU summit in Uganda.