Brigadier Bangura’s Nigerian Connection

John Amadu Bangura rose to power in Sierra Leone after a succession of coups, but his political legacy was shaped by the decision to give that power away. After the 1967 election put Siaka Stevens and the All Peoples Congress ahead, Brigadier David Lansana seized power. Brigadier Andrew Juxton-Smith then overthrew Lansana within 48 hours.

Bangura had been posted to Sierra Leone’s embassy in Washington. Stevens later went into exile in Guinea, where he joined forces with the country’s leader, Sekou Toure, and trained guerrillas. When a sergeants’ coup returned the exiled pair to Freetown in 1968, the noncommissioned officers handed power to Bangura, who was regarded as a professional officer.

On April 18, 1968, Bangura promised to transfer authority to a democratically elected prime minister within about seven days. Four days later, he gave the leadership to Stevens. The new prime minister, however, turned against the people and became an absolutist, according to the article. Bangura then tried to remove him in 1971, but the coup failed. After his trial, Bangura was condemned to death and hanged at Pandemba Road Military Prison.

The article also highlights Bangura’s Nigerian connection. Meshach Ezihe Obasi, a Nigerian gunsmith who had served with the Royal West Africa Frontier Force, remained in Sierra Leone after other members of his unit returned to Lagos. Obasi’s family connection to Bangura influenced the younger man, who joined the army as a private in 1950. British commanders sent him to Ghana for further training, followed by exposure in Nigeria, and he entered Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1953. He became a second lieutenant in August 1954, while Obasi remained a noncommissioned officer as Bangura advanced through the ranks.