Lt. General Oladipo Diya, who was a former chief of General staff, during General Sani Abacha’s era marked his 75 birthday on Saturday in Lagos.

The birthday celebration was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and many other dignitaries.

Diya was also a former governor of Ogun state between January 1984 and August 1985.

He was born on 3 April 1944 at Odogbolu in Ogun State. He was educated at the Methodist Primary School, Lagos, the Odogbolu Grammar School, and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.

Minister of Science Ogbonnaya Onu, Osinbajo, with Diya and his two wives and Senator Adefuye at the cutting of the cake

Alake of Egbaland, Oba Gbadebo, Osinbajo, Diya and his wives

 

He later went to the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. While serving in the military, Diya studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree, and then at the Nigerian Law School, where he was called to bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

After being posted out of Ogun state in 1985, Diya became General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigerian Army.

He later became the Commandant, National War college (1991–1993) and then was appointed, first as Chief of Defence Staff and later Chief of General Staff and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1994. But three years after, he was named in a suspicious coup allegation by General Sani Abacha regime.

He was put on trial and sentenced to death by a military tribunal.

The sentence was however not carried out as Abacha died in June 1998 and his successor General Abdulsalami Abubakar commutted the sentence. He was eventually freed.