Biography of Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka

Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka (1940 – 15 May 1976) was a key figure in the unsuccessful military coup on February 13, 1976, against General Murtala Ramat Muhammed’s government in Nigeria. Notably, Dimka also played a role in the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966, which ousted General Aguiyi Ironsi’s administration.

Commissioned as a Second-Lieutenant from the Australian Army Officer Cadet School in Portsea on December 13, 1963, Dimka and another officer, Lieutenant Boniface Ikejiofor, were the first two Nigerian Army officers to complete a 12-month course in Australia. This training involved collaboration with cadets from various countries.

During the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966, Dimka, then a lieutenant at the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna, joined officers of northern Nigerian origin in expressing grievances against General Aguiyi Ironsi’s government. Noteworthy figures in this movement included Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed, Lt. Sani Abacha, Lt. Muhammadu Buhari, Lt. Ibrahim Bako, Lt. Ibrahim Babangida, and Major Theophilus Danjuma. Dimka and Lt. Dambo were implicated in the shooting of Lt. Colonel Michael Okoro, Commander of the 3rd Battalion, during the July mutiny.

In a notable incident, Dimka, angered by his detention for violating orders, plotted to murder his Brigade Major, Samuel Ogbemudia. The July mutiny involved Dimka pursuing Ogbemudia from Kaduna to Owo, Ondo State, where Ogbemudia narrowly escaped.

Fast forward to May 15, 1976, when General Muhammed was assassinated in an ambush in Ikoyi, Lagos, alongside his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa. Lieutenant Colonel Dimka, Major Rabo, Captain Parwang, and Lieutenant Seri were the perpetrators. Dimka, in a broadcast, cited reasons such as corruption, indecision, and maladministration for the overthrow. The coup was quashed, Dimka fled to Radio Nigeria at Ikoyi, and was later arrested with a prostitute in Eastern Nigeria. Following a court martial, Dimka and 38 others were executed by firing squad.

In the aftermath, General Yakubu Gowon, implicated by Dimka, faced no extradition due to the British Government’s refusal. Years later, Gowon received an official pardon from President Shehu Shagari, and his rank and benefits were fully restored in 1987 by General Ibrahim Babangida. General Murtala Muhammed was succeeded by Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo, and Lieutenant Colonel Dimka was publicly executed at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos.