Joseph Gomwalk

Joseph Dechi Gomwalk (13 April 1935[1] – 15 May 1976) was a Nigerian police commissioner and the first Military Governor of Benue-Plateau State after it was formed from part of Northern Region. He was executed due to his connections to Buka Suka Dimka's attempted coup against Murtala Mohammed's government.

Joseph Gomwalk
Military Governor of Benue-Plateau State
In office
1967 – July 1975
Preceded byNone
(Pioneering)
Succeeded byAbdullahi Mohammed
Personal details
Born13 April 1935
Kanke, Nigeria
Died15 May 1976(1976-05-15) (aged 41)
Lagos, Nigeria
EducationBoys' Secondary School Gindiri/ University of Ibadan
OccupationPolice officer and statesman
Military service
Branch/serviceNigeria Police Force
RankPolice Commissioner

Education

Gomwalk was Ngas from Ampang[2] (Pang) in the present Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State. He attended the famous Boys Secondary School Gindiri where he graduated with distinctions in both academics and sports. He proceeded to the premier University of Ibadan and graduated with a degree in Zoology.

Governorship of Benue-Plateau State

Gomwalk was Governor of the state from 1967until 1975, when military head of state Yakubu Gowon's regime was toppled in a coup d'état.

A Visionary Leader While Governor, Gomwalk started the Nigerian Standard in 1972; as of 2003, it is a government-owned daily located on Joseph Gomwalk Road in Jos, and has a circulation of 100,000.[3] After failing to get Ahmadu Bello University of Zaria to open a satellite campus in the state, he turned to the University of Ibadan; that institution opened its Jos campus (which later became the University of Jos) in November 1971.[4]

In August 1974, affidavits alleging corruption on the part of Gomwalk and Joseph Tarka, Benue-Plateau State's representative to the Federal Executive Council, were published; Tarka resigned, but Gomwalk, with Gowon's support, remained in office.[5]

Execution

After Gowon's overthrow and the installation of Murtala Mohammed, Gomwalk was implicated in Buka Suka Dimka's attempted coup of February 13, 1976, and he and Dimka were executed by firing squad on May 15, 1976.[6]

References
  1. Zangabadt, Sen Luka Gwom (1993). Plateau State Political and Administrative System: A Historical Analysis. ISBN 9789782023971.
  2. Archibong, Maurice (2006-06-01). "Ngas: At home with everyone". The Sun News Online. The Sun Publishing. Archived from the original on 2007-01-01. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  3. Africa South of the Sahara 2004. Taylor and Francis. 2003. ISBN 1-85743-183-9.
  4. "Education". PlateauStateGov.org. Plateau State Government. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  5. Panter-Brick, Simone K (1978). "Army Reorganisation". Soldiers and Oil: The Political Transformation of Nigeria. Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 0-7146-3098-5.
  6. "Firing squad execute Gowon's accuser", by Colin Legum, The Obsserver (London), May 16, 1976, p. 10
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