Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), former Chief of Staff to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has passed away at the age of 86.
The retired army officer reportedly died around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Abuja.
Family sources confirmed the news in Ilorin, describing his death as a major loss to the Ilorin Emirate, the Nigerian military, and the nation at large.
Born in 1939, Mohammed attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1958.
He rose through the ranks to become Director of Military Intelligence and played a key role in the 1975 coup that overthrew General Yakubu Gowon and brought General Murtala Mohammed to power.
Following the coup, he was appointed Governor of the former Benue-Plateau State, serving from July 1975 to March 1976.
Under General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military regime, he served as Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO), the forerunner of today’s Department of State Services (DSS), until 1979.
After retiring from the army that same year, Mohammed went into private business and became Managing Director of Atoto Press Limited, a printing firm based in Ilorin.
In 1998, he was recalled to public service as National Security Adviser to then Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a position he held until Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
At the start of the Fourth Republic, Mohammed was appointed Chief of Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo — a role he continued under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua until his resignation in 2008.
He was widely regarded as a disciplined soldier, skilled administrator, and an influential figure in Nigeria’s political and security affairs.
The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) has described his passing as a monumental loss.
In a condolence message signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Nurudeen Ibrahim, on behalf of the National President, Alhaji Abdulmumini Abdullahi, the union said the death was particularly painful at a time Nigeria needs experienced patriots to help steer its course.
The IEDPU praised the late General for his pioneering achievements — being the first son of Ilorin to serve as a state governor and the first to attain the rank of a two-star General in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The union noted his long-standing support for community development initiatives, including sponsoring the printing of its annual calendar for several years.
It extended condolences to President Bola Tinubu, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
Prayers were offered for Allah’s forgiveness and for the deceased to be granted Aljanat Firdaus.
