Obasanjo’s former chief of staff Abdullahi Mohammed dies in Abuja

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Major General Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), a former Chief of Staff to ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has passed away at the age of 86.

The retired general, a native of Ilorin in Kwara State, died in the early hours of Wednesday in Abuja, according to family sources.

Born in 1939, Mohammed trained at the prestigious Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, before joining the Nigerian Army in 1958. Over the years, he rose steadily through the ranks and became Director of Military Intelligence. He was also a key figure in the 1975 coup that ousted General Yakubu Gowon and installed General Murtala Mohammed as Head of State.

Following the change in government, Mohammed was appointed Military Governor of the former Benue-Plateau State, a position he held from July 1975 to March 1976. Under General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military regime, he served as the Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO)—the precursor to today’s Department of State Services (DSS)—until 1979.

After retiring from active service, Mohammed ventured into business and became Managing Director of Atoto Press Limited, a well-known printing company based in Ilorin.

He later returned to public service in 1998 as National Security Adviser to then Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, helping to steer Nigeria’s transition to democracy in 1999.

With the return to civilian rule, Mohammed was appointed Chief of Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo, a position he continued to hold under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua until his resignation in 2008.