Qualla: Dodan Barracks https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:29 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/1/4/k/dodan-barracks-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Dodan Barracks https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks Dodan Barracks: Introduction https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks/ Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. The name comes from a battlefield halfway around the world. During World War II, soldiers of the 81st West African Division fought in the Burma campaign, and one of their engagements lent its name to a military compound in Ikoyi, Lagos. For a quarter century, Dodan Barracks was where Nigeria was governed -- not from a parliament or a presidential palace, but from an officer's mess inside a military installation. Every coup, counter-coup, and power transfer between 1966 and 1991 either began at Dodan Barracks, ended there, or passed through it on the way to somewhere else.

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/1/4/k/dodan-barracks-wp/s14k-dodan-barracks-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Dodan Barracks: Where Coups Come Home https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks/ Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. In January 1966, a group of Nigerian Army majors overthrew the First Republic, and Dodan Barracks was one of their staging grounds. The army's commander, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, suppressed the plot and assumed power himself. Six months later, a counter-coup killed Ir...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/1/4/k/dodan-barracks-wp/s14k-dodan-barracks-where-coups-come-home.mp3 0:06 2 full Dodan Barracks: Coffins, Presidents, and a Palace Coup https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks/ Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. Gowon fell in a July 1975 coup, replaced by General Murtala Mohammed. Seven months later, Murtala was assassinated when his convoy was ambushed. His successor, Olusegun Obasanjo, relocated to the barracks for security. That decision brought an unexpected visitor to the gates: the...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/1/4/k/dodan-barracks-wp/s14k-dodan-barracks-coffins-presidents-and-a-palace-coup.mp3 0:06 3 full Dodan Barracks: Under Fire at Dawn https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks/ Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. The most dramatic chapter came on April 22, 1990, when Major Gideon Orkar launched a coup attempt against Babangida. Dodan Barracks was one of the key positions his forces seized. Babangida was in residence when the attack began, but he escaped through a back route while guards f...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/1/4/k/dodan-barracks-wp/s14k-dodan-barracks-under-fire-at-dawn.mp3 0:06 4 full Dodan Barracks: The Slow Fade https://qualla.com/dodan-barracks/ Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. When military headquarters moved to Abuja in 1991, the barracks began a long decline. Civilian rule returned in 1999, and with it came drastic cuts to maintenance funding. By 2003, the grounds were dirty and overgrown, sewage leaked from broken pipes, and the walls of most buildi...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/1/4/k/dodan-barracks-wp/s14k-dodan-barracks-the-slow-fade.mp3 0:06 5 full