Late former Head of State, Maj Gen Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, and late Lt Col Adekunle Fajuyi
The family of the late former Head of State, Maj Gen Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, has paid tribute to the late Lt Col Adekunle Fajuyi, describing his death as a “supreme and heroic sacrifice” that remains one of the most defining symbols of loyalty and national unity in Nigeria’s history.
Son of the late head of state and former Minister of Defence, Chief Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, in a letter of remembrance and solidarity written on behalf of the Aguiyi-Ironsi family to the Fajuyi family, marking the 60th anniversary of his death, said July 29, 2026, will be a solemn occasion to honour a soldier they described as “a war hero who offered himself as a sacrificial lamb for the unity and integrity of the nation.”
The family recalled that Lt Col Fajuyi, then Military Governor of the Western Region, made the ultimate sacrifice in 1966 when mutinous soldiers abducted him alongside Maj Gen Aguiyi-Ironsi in Ibadan during the military counter-coup.
They stated that Fajuyi, in a defining moment of conscience, chose honour over personal safety and refused to abandon his guest and superior, a decision the family said reflected the highest ideals of loyalty, integrity, and military brotherhood.
