Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), a former Chief of Staff to ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’Adua, is dead.
Mohammed, who is an indigene of Kwara State, reportedly died around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Abuja at the age of 86.
He attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1958, according to SolaceBase, a publication run by a Kwara State indigene, Abdullateef Jos.
According to a family memeber, Abdulkareem Durosinlorun, confirmed Mr. Mohammed’s demise.
“He died some minutes after 12 am on Wednesday, the funeral prayers will be held at 1 pm at Ansarudeen mosque in Abuja.” He said
Mr. Mohammed, a retired major general, played a key role in a 1975 coup that ousted Yakubu Gowon and brought Murtala Mohammed to power.
Following the change of government, Mohammed was appointed Governor of Benue-Plateau State, serving from July 1975 to March 1976.
Under General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military administration, he became the Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO)—the precursor to today’s Department of State Services (DSS)—a position he held until 1979.
After his retirement that same year, he ventured into private business and became Managing Director of Atoto Press Limited, a notable printing company in Ilorin.
In 1998, General Mohammed was recalled to public service as National Security Adviser to then Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a position he held until the transition to civilian rule in 1999.
Mr. Mohammed served as chief of staff to President Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, and subsequently served in the same capacity for late President Yar’Adua between 2007 and 2008.