Six Decades Later, Aborisade Says History Wronged Col. Victor Banjo, Demands National Exoneration
Prominent UK based legal practitioner, Mogaji Ajagba compound and 2027 African Democratic Congress (ADC) gubernatorial aspirant, Barrister Niyi Aborisade, has renewed calls for the national exoneration of the late Colonel Victor Banjo, arguing that history unfairly judged the officer’s role in Nigeria’s first military coup of January 15, 1966.
Aborisade made the remarks on The Poliscope, a current affairs programme on Dominion Television, hosted by Samson Balogun, during a special broadcast marking 60 years since Nigeria’s first coup.
Speaking on the programme, Aborisade contended that Banjo’s legacy has been clouded by political narratives that failed to fully examine the complexities of the period. He maintained that Banjo’s actions during the Western Region crisis and the counter-coup period were guided by a desire to prevent further bloodshed and preserve national stability rather than to undermine the Nigerian state.
> “History has not been fair to Colonel Victor Banjo. What we have accepted for decades is a simplified version of events that ignores the pressures, the context, and the competing loyalties of that time,” Aborisade said. “Six decades later, it is only just that the nation undertakes a transparent, scholarly review aimed at clearing his name.”
The legal luminary disclosed that his position was informed by extensive consultations and research carried out across the country and beyond. According to him, he traveled far and wide, engaging historians, retired military officers, and political leaders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who, he said, corroborated the view that Colonel Banjo was innocent of the allegations that have trailed his name for decades.
Aborisade further revealed that, to this day, the Federal Government has never formally declared Colonel Banjo dead, noting that official military records still list him as “missing in action.” He argued that this status underscores what he described as unresolved gaps in the official account of Banjo’s fate and role during the Nigerian Civil War era.
Providing additional historical context, Aborisade explained that Banjo later fought alongside the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, not out of ideological alignment, but due to circumstances surrounding his imprisonment at the outbreak of the civil war. He said Banjo was being held in an eastern prison when hostilities began and was subsequently released by Ojukwu, whom he described as a long-time personal friend of the late colonel.
Aborisade called on the Federal Government, academic institutions, and the National Archives to collaborate on an independent historical panel that would reassess declassified documents, military records, and eyewitness accounts related to the 1966 coup and its aftermath.
He also linked the debate to broader national questions about reconciliation and historical justice, noting that unresolved narratives from the early years of Nigeria’s military interventions continue to shape political trust and regional relations.
The insightful discussion highlighted the sequence of events that culminated in the January 15 coup, the subsequent counter-coup of July 1966, and the wider implications for Nigeria’s democratic journey. Viewers were invited to reflect on whether the nation has adequately confronted the lessons of its turbulent past.
Aborisade concluded by urging Nigerians to approach the subject with openness and a commitment to truth. “Exoneration is not about rewriting history,” he said. “It is about completing it.”