Former President Muhammadu Buhari declined to resist the military coup that removed him from power on August 27, 1985, despite having loyal military officers willing to defend his government, because he feared a counter-operation would lead to bloodshed, his authorised biography has revealed.
Gatekeepers News reports that Buhari, who seized power from the civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari in December 1983, reportedly realised that the coup had succeeded when two soldiers confronted him in his bedroom and announced his arrest.
According to Buhari: The Authorised Biography, the former military Head of State immediately understood that his security had been compromised and that organising an effective resistance was no longer realistic.
“If soldiers could come directly to me in my bedroom, the operation was complete,” Buhari reportedly recalled.
“My regular guards had already been replaced. My security had been penetrated. There was no realistic path to resistance.”
The biography disclosed that Buhari, who died on July 13, 2025, had several loyalists prepared to defend his administration.
They included Major General Tunde Idiagbon, Major General Mohammed Magoro, Lawal Rafindadi of the National Security Organisation, Lieutenant Colonel Sabo Aliyu of the Brigade of Guards and Major Mustafa Haruna Jokolo, his aide-de-camp.
However, most of the loyalists did not command troops capable of mounting an effective counter-operation.
The authors explained that the coup plotters had already consolidated their influence in strategic military formations, leaving Buhari with limited options.
Some military commanders considered loyal to the government, including Brigadier Salihu Ibrahim in Jos and the commanding officer of the Recce Battalion, were reportedly neutralised or pre-empted during the operation to prevent a counteraction.
Although some of his loyalists were willing to fight, Buhari reportedly believed that attempting to mobilise them would result in unnecessary casualties.
He therefore chose to accept his arrest rather than risk the lives of military officers and soldiers in a confrontation he considered already lost.
The account is contained in Volume One of the three-volume publication, authored by Dr Udu Yakubu, in a chapter titled The Fall of August: Coup against the Commander-in-Chief.
Buhari initially favoured military action against Niger Delta militants
Meanwhile, Volume Two of the biography reveals that Buhari initially considered deploying the military against Niger Delta militants during the resurgence of attacks on oil installations by the Niger Delta Avengers.
Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, recalled that Buhari, drawing on his military background, initially favoured a military response but eventually accepted dialogue after being persuaded that an escalation could cripple the petroleum industry.
Kachikwu said Buhari was initially reluctant to approve negotiations with the militants ahead of a meeting with the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).
However, the former president eventually agreed to engage the militants after further persuasion.
Biography to document Buhari’s political and military legacy
Chairman of the biography’s planning committee and former Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the project was conceived not merely to document Buhari’s personal and political journey but also to contribute to Nigeria’s historical records.
Adamu disclosed that the late president personally authorised the project.
He said the research drew extensively from official records, published materials, personal recollections, speeches, reports and other documentary sources relating to the institutions, administrations and major events covered in the three volumes.
According to him, the presentation would bring together members of Buhari’s family, associates, former colleagues, government officials, politicians, military personnel, academics, diplomats, private sector representatives, civil society organisations, media practitioners and members of the public.
Adamu said the planning committee intended the occasion to extend beyond a gathering of Buhari’s political associates, stressing that although the former president was a partisan political figure at different stages of his life, his biography formed part of Nigeria’s broader historical record.
He added that efforts were being made to ensure that universities, libraries, research institutions, military and security agencies, public institutions and diplomatic missions acquired copies of the books for research and future generations.
The former minister also urged media organisations to go beyond publicising the event by critically examining the books, interrogating their arguments and evidence, and engaging the author to deepen public understanding of Buhari and the periods he governed.
He noted that those who worked with or knew the former president had a responsibility to preserve their personal recollections as historical testimony.
Adamu described the biography as a contribution to the preservation of an accurate account of Nigeria’s past.
The three-volume biography will be formally presented on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre and Suites, Abuja.
Former President of Niger Republic, Mahamadou Issoufou, is expected to chair the occasion, while President Bola Tinubu will attend as the special guest of honour.
The three volumes feature forewords by Issoufou, former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon and former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
