Abbas Yushau Yusuf.
In the History of Nigeria, the coup that was staged purely bloodless till today was that of General Murtala Muhammad against the administration of General Yakubu Gowon.
But other coups that followed staged by the military in a fashion that turned to have casualties even with the slightest of a wound were not bloodless except that of General Sani Abacha to that of Chief Ernest Shonekan.
1983 COUP :Shagari was taken to Nassarawa
During the December 1983 coup against the elected government of President Shehu Shagari by Nigerian soldiers , eventhough the president was never harmed ,but the coup later revealed to be bloody.
There are many versions that rendered the Buhari coup against Shagari as bloody ,but when the military announced it,they refused to mention the casualty who happens to be a senior officer in the person of Brigadier Ibrahim Bako.
Late President Shehu Shagari revealed that when Soldiers reached a stage where he remains the only target to achieve their mission of overthrowing his government ,when he was in Abuja inside Aguda House to spend the new year holiday,his ADC major Ali Gaidam informed the president close to 4 AM on Saturday morning that he should come down stairs to be taken to a safer place ,the reasons advanced to President Shagari was because Brigadier Ibrahim Bako has arrived from Kaduna to arrest President Shehu Shagari at Aguda House.
When Shagaris security details learnt that if he is still at Aguda House and Brigadier Ibrahim Bako arrived there will be a serious battle.
As a result of that, President Shehu Shagari agreed with the advice of his ADC and the security still loyal to his government to be taken away to a safer place before the arrival of Brigadier Ibrahim Bako from Kaduna to Aguda House.
Shagari was taken to Keffi in Nassarawa state,but when he was later evacuated to Lagos,he read in the newspapers that he ordered the shooting of Brigadier Ibrahim Bako,which he says was farthest from the truth.
But some versions to the shooting of the only senior officer during the coup was that when Brigadier Ibrahim Bako reached the state House security details guarding the state House in a gun duel with Brigadier Ibrahim Bako’s troops shot the Brigadier to death which turns the December 31 1983 coup to be bloody.
