THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF Emmanuel Ifeajuna:

 THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF Emmanuel Ifeajuna:

Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the first black African to win Gold in an Int'l sports event at the 1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. He was sentenced to death by firing squad.

What was his crime?

Ifeajuna was a Major in the Nigerian Army.

He hailed from Onitsha and attended DMGS Onitsha both in Anambra State. A graduate of University of Ibadan he was.

How He Died: From Hero to Villian.

He and three fellow officers were accused by their own leader, Gen. Emeka Ojukwu of plotting against him and the breakaway Republic of Biafra. 

They denied charges of alleged treason and claimed they were trying to save lives and the country at large, they said, by negotiating an early ceasefire with the FG and reuniting Nigeria. They failed, they died. 

The day of the execution was September 25, 1967, at exactly 1.30pm. There was a very short time between trial and execution, not least because federal troops were closing in on Enugu, the Biafran capital, giving rise to fears that the "guilty four" might be rescued and set free. 

As the execution approached, the four men; Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo, Phillip Alale and Sam Agbam were tied to a tether. 

Ifeajuna, with his head on his chest as though he was already dead, kept murmuring that his death would not stop what he had feared most, that federal troops would enter Enugu, and the only way to stop this was for those about to kill him to ask for a ceasefire. 

A group of soldiers drew up with their rifles at the ready.

 On the order of their officer, they tailored their guns at the bared chests of Ifeajuna and the three other men. 

At the thunderous shout of the officer: "Shoot them! Shoot them!" "Open Fire!", they obeyed the last order, in a twinkle of an eye the deafening volley was followed by lolling heads. Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna slumped and died. Nigeria's great sporting hero died a villain's death. 

Biafran Leader, Gen. Emeka Ojukwu later made public why he executed Ifeajuna and his co-conspirators.

 I ordered their execution because Ifeajuna was spying my government with the help of others therefore revealing our secrets to the FG on how to kill me for power to change hands. 

Of all the many hundreds of gold medallists at the Empire and Commonwealth Games since 1930 none left such a mark on history, led such a remarkable life or suffered such a shocking death as Ifeajuna.