The Vatsa Conspiracy (Part 2) - Some Biosketches

By Nowa Omoigui, (MD, MPH, FACC)

MAJOR GENERAL MAMMAN VATSA
Major General Mamman Vatsa was born on Dec 3, 1940. After attending secondary school at the Government Secondary School Bida, Niger State, he joined the Nigerian Army on the December 10, 1962. Following preparatory training at the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna, he was sent to the Indian Military Academy.

General Vatsa attended many military courses inside and outside the country during his career - including Intelligence, Security, Policy and Strategic Studies, Equitation, Physical Training, among others. He ascended through all the officer ranks of the Army from 2/Lt to Major-General, and was Command and Staff College certified (psc). He commanded the 21 battalion during the civil war and was one of the few officers who actually wrote academic articles about the operational aspects of certain battles. After the war ended in 1970, he was an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy, before being posted as a Principal Staff Officer at Army HQ. Subsequently, he commanded the 30 Infantry Brigade (Ogoja) until July 1975, 13 Infantry Brigade (Calabar) until February 1976, and the Brigade of Guards until 1979. It was during his tenure that the HQ of the Bde of Gds was moved from Dodan Barracks to its Kofo Abayomi location in Victoria Island before transfer to Abuja.

When then Colonel Vatsa was commanding the 13 Bde in Calabar, it was he who first took to the airwaves to oppose the February 13, 1976 coup of Lt. Col Dimka. During the Dimka coup investigation, Vatsa was Secretary of the Court-Martial Tribunal. It was from that position that he became the Commander, Bde of Gds under then C-in-C, Lt. Gen Obasanjo

Vatsa was Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) from late 1979. He, along with Lt. Col Bitiyong developed the Special Warfare Wing - and established the doctrinal basis for the establishment of the 82nd Composite Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu. In fact it was Vatsa who suggested that the Division be called the 82nd Div – after the 82nd West African Division in Burma. Lt. Col. Musa Bitiyong was tasked by Vatsa to establish the first Airborne battalion in the Nigerian Army.

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Comments

[Moses]

Is there a body that is following up the issue of prosecuting the malicioius killer(IBB) of these fine General.

[valtrex online]

I like this text: It was from that position that he became the Commander, Bde of Gds under then C-in-C, Lt. Gen Obasanjo !!