JUST IN: Ex-Presidential Chief of Staff is Dead

Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), a respected military officer and former Chief of Staff to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has passed away at the age of 86. He reportedly died around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Abuja, according to family sources who confirmed the news in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Born in 1939, Mohammed was a native of Ilorin and an alumnus of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom. He was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1958 and rose to prominence as Director of Military Intelligence. He played a notable role in the 1975 coup that ousted General Yakubu Gowon and brought General Murtala Mohammed to power.

Following the coup, he served as the Governor of Benue-Plateau State from July 1975 to March 1976. Under General Obasanjo’s military government, he became the Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO), the predecessor of the Department of State Services (DSS), a position he held until 1979. After retiring that same year, he went into private business and led Atoto Press Limited, a major printing company based in Ilorin.

In 1998, Mohammed returned to public service as National Security Adviser to Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, helping to oversee the country’s transition to civilian rule in 1999. With the return of democracy, he was appointed Chief of Staff to President Obasanjo and continued in that role under President Yar’Adua until his resignation in June 2008.

Throughout his career, General Mohammed was known for his discipline, quiet influence, and deep understanding of Nigeria’s political and security landscape.

The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) described his death as a monumental loss to both the Ilorin Emirate and the nation. In a condolence statement issued by the union’s National Publicity Secretary, Nurudeen Ibrahim, on behalf of the National President, Alhaji Abdulmumini Abdullahi, the group said the passing of the elder statesman was particularly painful at a time when Nigeria needs the guidance of experienced patriots.

The IEDPU noted that Mohammed was the first son of Ilorin to serve as a state governor and the first to reach the rank of a two-star General in the Nigerian Armed Forces. The union highlighted his long-standing support for community development, recalling that he consistently sponsored the printing of the group’s annual calendar free of charge.

Condolences have poured in for the family and community from across the country, including from President Bola Tinubu, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.

Prayers have been offered for the late General, asking Almighty Allah to forgive his shortcomings, grant him Aljanat Firdaus, and comfort his family and loved ones.