Murtala Ramat Muhammed GCFR was born on November 8, 1938 in Kano State. He died on February 13, 1976.

He was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War and thereafter ruled over Nigeria from July 29, 1975 until his assassination in 1976.

This period in Nigerian history, from the Northern counter-coup victory to Murtala's death, is commonly associated with the institutionalization of the military in politics.

He attended Cikin Gida Elementary School and later transferred to Gidan Makama primary school in Kano before proceeding to Kano Middle School (now Rumfa College, Kano) in 1949.

He further attended the famous Government College (now Barewa College) in Zaria, where he obtained his school certificate in 1957.

On the night of 29 July 1966, northern soldiers at Abeokuta barracks mutinied, thus precipitating a counter-coup, which may very well have been in the planning stages. A group among the officers supported secession and thus gave the code name of the coup 'A raba' meaning secession in Hausa.

The counter-coup led to the installation of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, despite the intransigence of Muhammed who wanted the role of Supreme Commander for himself.

However, as Gowon was militarily his senior, and finding a lack of support from the British and American advisors, he caved in. Gowon rewarded him by confirming his ranking (he had been an acting Lt. Colonel until then) and his appointment (Inspector of Signals).

The acceptance of Gowon as the Head of State was not supported by all the key military leaders, in particular, Odumegwu Ojukwu, military governor of the Eastern Region. At the start of the Nigerian Civil War, Muhammed was the commander of the newly established 2nd Infantry Division.

On 29 July 1975, General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown while attending the 12th summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Kampala, Uganda. Muhammed took power as the new Military Head of State. Brigadiers Obasanjo (later Lt. General) and Danjuma (later Lt. General) were appointed as Chief of Staff, Supreme HQ and Chief of Army Staff, respectively.

On February 13, 1976, General Muhammed set off for work along his usual route on George Street. Shortly after 8 a.m., his Mercedes-Benz car travelled slowly in the infamous Lagos traffic near the Federal Secretariat at Ikoyi in Lagos and a group of soldiers, members of an abortive coup led by Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka, emerged from an adjacent petrol station, ambushed the vehicle and assassinated Muhammed.

Murtala Muhammed was killed, aged 37, along with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa. The assassination was part of an attempted coup led by Dimka, who was executed on 15 May 1976 at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos for treason.

MyNigeria/Wikipedia