THE MAN WHO ANNOUNCED BUHARIS OVERTHROW.... Lt. Gen. Joshua Nimyel Dogonyaro Is Dead

"Joshua Dogonyaro was one who always demonstrated loyalty in his service to the country and served his nation with courage, dignity and selflessness".... Lalong.

Pioneer Field Commander of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, ECOMOG, General Joshua Nimyel Dogonyaro, is dead.   

General Joshua Dogonyaro, according to close family sources, gave up the ghost on Thursday, 13 May, 2021 in the Plateau state capital after a brief but protracted illness, at the age of 80 years.

The late Dogonyaro shot into prominence following his early morning broadcast of the coup that removed General Muhammadu Buhari from office on the 27th of August, 1985.

A highly respected figure, while in and out of the military, the Late Gen. Dogonyaro was a member of the then feared "Langtang Mafia" that held sway amongst the top echelon of the Nigerian army.


The late military officer was part of the leaders of the military junta that ousted the then draconian regime of General Muhammadu Buhari and installed the Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida junta. 

Born in 1940 at Vom Missionary Hospital in Vom, Plateau State, the late Joshua Nimyel Dogonyaro attended Saint Peter CMS Primary School in Bukuru before enrolling at Boys’ Secondary School in Gindiri.

Joshua Dogonyaro later transferred to the Dental Technology School on Broad Street in Lagos and was soon accepted into the Nigerian Defense Academy in Kaduna.

He Rose to the enviable position of Chief of Defence Staff, before he was retired from service.

Announcing his death, was a  former Chief of Staff to the Plateau State Government, Dr. Chris Kwaja via his Facebook page but did not give details.

“You were a nationalist and a soldier’s soldier”, Kwaja wrote on a post bearing the General’s picture.

Another source close to the Dogonyaro family, Dan Kwada said “It is true. He has been sick and was to be flown abroad for treatment at some point”.

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State last September in a birthday message to the former Field Commander of ECOMOG described him as one who always demonstrated loyalty in his service to the country, saying he served his nation with courage, dignity and selflessness.

Lalong in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Simon Macham recalled the achievements of Dogonyaro during his career in the Army, where he held several command positions and accomplished his assignments with “tremendous success.”

Dogoyaro was a member of the reputed Langtang Mafia in Nigeria’s military circle. According to Wikipedia, the “Langtang Mafia” is a rumored clique of military men from Langtang, Plateau State who holds or has held positions of power in the Nigerian government. The term is often used in reference to the 1985-1993 Babangida junta. Purported members have included Lt Gen Joshua Nimyel Dogonyaro (retired), Lt Gen Jeremiah Useni (retired), Lt Gen Domkat Bali (retired) and Brig Gen John Nanzip Shagaya (retired and presently Senator), and Lt Gen Muhammad A. Najib (retired) as well.