The grave where the remains of the late former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, were interred is in ruins, almost 50 years after he was brutally assassinated in a coup d’etat led by Lt Col Bukar Sukar Dimka.

General Mohammed, who was on his way to the office at the Dodan Barracks, was ambushed in a traffic near the former Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, Lagos, and one of the coupists, who wore a flowing gown (Babanriga) over his military gear, rained a hail of bullets on the Head of State and his ADC, Lt Akintunde Akinterinwa, on Friday, February 13, 1976.

The loyal forces rounded up Dimka and his co – conspirators, at the Radio House, Ikoyi, where he was making a nationwide broadcast about the takeover and change in government. He managed to escape, and the insurrection was quelled.

The country was turned into a great mourning, and the Federal Government declared a seven day national mourning. His body was flown to Kano, where he was buried with full military honours. Major General Ishola Williams (rtd), who worked under the late head of state as a signals officer, said that where his late boss lies was an eyesore and a disservice to the man, who was loved by all.

“I was there two weeks ago (Sunday, December 28, 2025) in company with a friend and colleague, Major General Ibrahim Sani (rtd). What I saw was unbefitting of a former Head of State,” he said in a chat with Sunday Telegraph.

In recognition of the role of Mohammed in the independence of Angola, the government in November last year honoured the late Nigerian Head of State, General Mohammed, with a posthumous National Honour as part of the country’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations.

The award recognised Mohammed’s decisive leadership and Nigeria’s support for Angola’s liberation struggle in 1975. The President of Angola at the time was João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço. Also, a major avenue in Luanda was named after him (Auda Mutah Mohammad Avenue), acknowledging Nigeria’s decisive recognition and financial aid to the MPLA government in 1975.

Abba Risqua Murtala Mohammed, son of the Late General Mohammed and his sister, Dr Aisha MohammedOyebode, received the award on behalf of their late father. In further reaction to this, General Williams asked: “What if the organisers of the award had said that they wanted to pay respect to the late Head of State and said they wanted to visit his grave side?

That would be a great shame to his memory and the government at large,” he said. “There is nothing wrong in constructing a Mausoleum, which would house his remains. What I saw there was unbefitting of a man loved by all and sundry when he died.” The Charismatic Head of State was buried in Tudun Maliki, Kano, which is now the site of the current Massallachi Murtala (Murtala Mosque).

Before his interment, Islamic rites were performed at the Kano Central Mosque. The then bushy area, today, has been taken over by human beings as settlements have sprung up in the old farm settlements. Now east to the grave is the popular Mosque in Kano called Masallacin Murtala, where Jummat and five daily prayers are always conducted by Muslim faithful.

The Late Wazirin Kano, Sheikh Isa Waziri, was the former Chief Imam of the Murtala Muhammad Mosque and conducted Ramadan Quranic exegesis in the Mosque. After the death of Sheikh Isa Waziri, Sheikh Badamasi Dantaura is now the Chief Imam of the Mosque.

Apart from General Murtala Muhammad’s grave aside, three other graves, which were said to be those of his mother, Late Ramat Muhammad and his eldest son, Late Zakari Murtala Muhammad, who died in mysterious circumstances in 1993 were within the site.

In the past few years, the grave side was bare, but now it has been fenced, and an inscription was made. The inscription on the grave is a Muslim prayer offered to the dead as ruled by Islamic injunctions.

But experts have suggested that late General Murtala Muhammad’s grave should be made like a national monument where a library will be erected by the side and his achievements documented inside it, including his last clothes and even the Mercedes-Benz car in which he was assassinated.