In the conservative heart of Northern Nigeria, where purdah (the seclusion of women from public life) confined women to silence and politics was a forbidden arena, one woman roared loudly enough to shake the foundations of power — Hajiya Gambo Sawaba.
She was arrested no fewer than sixteen times, flogged in public, brutalized in jail, stripped naked, and tortured, and yet never silenced. History remembers her as the most jailed female activist in Nigeria’s history.
Born Hajaratu Gambo Sawaba on 15 February 1933 in Tudun Wada, Zaria, she was the daughter of Isa Amartey Amarteifio, a Ghanaian migrant who worked with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and Fatima Amarteifio, a Nupe woman from Lavun, Niger State. She was the fifth of six children. By Hausa custom, any child born after twins was called “Gambo,” a name she bore for life.
From childhood, she displayed an untamable spirit. Folklore remembers her as a girl who always fought for the underdog. Whenever she saw children fighting, she would step in for the weaker one and declare:
“I have bought this fight from you.” Her clothes were often torn in these scuffles, until her mother, tired of constant repairs, began sewing her dresses from tarpaulin. Even as a child, Gambo revealed what would define her entire life: she was a fighter for the oppressed.
Tragedy struck early. Her father died when she was just 10 years old, and her mother three years later. Orphaned at 13, she was quickly married off to Abubakar Garba Bello, a World War II veteran. At 16, she gave birth to her only child, Bilikisu, but her husband abandoned her soon after, leaving her to raise her daughter largely alone. By 17, however, Gambo was already forging her own path in defiance of the strictures that confined Northern women.
In 1950, when Malam Aminu Kano founded the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) as a radical alternative to the conservative Northern People’s Congress (NPC), Gambo became one of its earliest female members. NEPU pushed for education, social justice, and women’s empowerment in sharp contrast to the NPC, which insisted: “We in the North are happy, our women are happy about their condition. We know what is right for women.”
Her fearlessness soon caught Aminu Kano’s attention. He gave her the name “Sawaba”, meaning redemption or freedom. An alternative story claims she earned the name after boldly addressing a rally in Jakara Market, Zaria, before the official male speaker arrived. When the councilman Alhaji Gambo Sawaba finally came, he declared that since she was the first woman to speak at a political rally in the North, she would henceforth be called Gambo Sawabiya. She, however, preferred the male version, “Sawaba,” and it became inseparable from her identity.
Her rise was meteoric. She was soon elected President-General of NEPU’s women’s wing, leading campaigns that shook the North. She went from house to house, speaking directly to women in purdah, addressed crowds in markets, and organized political meetings where no woman had dared to speak before. Her advocacy was fearless, she condemned child marriage, forced and unpaid labour, punitive taxes, and the denial of education and political rights to women.
But this activism came at a heavy price. In 1952, she was arrested in Kano and charged with “drawing women out of purdah.” She was sentenced to three months in prison, the first of sixteen prison sentences she would endure. She was jailed in Zaria, Kano, Kaduna, and Jos. Sometimes she was stripped naked and flogged several lashes; on other occasions, her hair was shaved off with a broken bottle. She was beaten so severely by thugs that she once lost all her front teeth, which had to be replaced with artificial ones. In 1957, she underwent surgery to remove her womb after brutal torture in prison.
Sawaba became so familiar with arrests that she always kept a blanket inscribed “Prison Yard” near her bed, ready for the next time police came knocking. Yet prison only strengthened her resolve. Crowds of women and men often packed the courtroom during her trials, chanting in her support.
Her fight extended to the ballot box. In 1956, she and other NEPU women marched to the office of Premier Sir Ahmadu Bello in Kaduna to demand voting rights for Northern women. He promised to consider their request but unfortunately he never fulfilled it. While women in the South gradually gained the franchise (1951 in Lagos, 1954 in the East, 1959 in the West), Northern women were told they would receive the vote only “in God’s time.” Sawaba mocked the excuse, declaring that had women been enfranchised earlier, she would have contested against these men. Ultimately, Northern women did not get the vote until 1976.
Her activism was not without personal sacrifice. After her separation from her first husband, she married three more times, a railway worker, a Cameroonian boxer (regularly threatened with deportation by her political enemies), and a businessman. None of the marriages lasted. She endured physical attacks, including one where six men beat her unconscious and left her for dead in the bush.
Despite all this, Sawaba remained a pillar of courage. Her home on Benin Street in Zaria became a hub for political meetings, filled with posters of Karl Marx, Thomas Sankara, and Samora Machel. She maintained an open-door policy, raising not only her daughter but also dozens of adopted children, relatives, orphans, and street kids. By the time of her death, she had taken in over 30 children, some from the hospital just days before her passing.
At home, she was warm and unpretentious. Her daughter Bilikisu remembered her love of cooking and her favourite dishes: Nupe dukuno, tuwo shinkafa, and sakwara. Yet beyond the domestic space, she remained an indomitable lioness of politics, blunt, non-conformist, outspoken.
In 1998, disillusioned by corruption and the loss of ideology in Nigerian politics, she formally retired, declaring: “Politics in the country has lost its flavour and is no longer a game of ideology, but a game of self-aggrandisement.” She died three years later, in October 2001, at the age of 68.
Her funeral in Zaria was attended by two former heads of state, a testament to her political stature. Tributes poured in, with the New Nigerian describing her as “the most tortured and jailed Nigerian female politician.” Her daughter Bilikisu summed up her mother’s life simply: “She never stopped hoping for a better society and remained optimistic that Nigerians, especially women, would be free from tyranny and dictatorial leadership.”
Hajiya Gambo Sawaba lived and died as she had always been, a fighter, a redeemer, a lioness who roared for the voiceless.
Today, her memory endures in monuments such as the Hajiya Gambo Sawaba General Hospital in Zaria, a hostel at Bayero University, Kano (BUK) named after her, and in the many statues raised in her honour.
Hajiya Gambo Sawaba fought, bled, and endured for the rights of women and the poor. She never asked for applause but her legacy roars on, immortalizing her as the true Lioness of Zaria.
On October 24, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reappointed Major General Emmanuel Akomaye Parker Undiandeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence, reaffirming confidence in his leadership and expertise in strengthening Nigeria’s defence intelligence operations.
Major General Undiandeye first assumed command as the 17th Chief of Defence Intelligence on June 23, 2023, and continues to serve with distinction in the nation’s security architecture.
Born on September 2, 1968, in Bedia, Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, Southern Nigeria, General Undiandeye hails from the family of Mr. Sylvanus and Mrs. Maria Undiandeye.
He began his military career at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, and later proceeded to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom, where he completed his cadet training.
Major General Undiandeye has attended several professional military and strategic courses both locally and internationally, including the Nigerian Army College of Logistics, Lagos, and the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, for his Junior and Senior Courses.
His quest for advanced military education took him to the National Defence University (NDU), Washington DC, USA, and the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, where he earned a Master’s degree from the University of Ibadan.
Major General Undiandeye also attended the Senior Executives National and International Security Programme at the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Administration, USA, and the International Intelligence Directors Course in Chicksands, United Kingdom.
He holds a B.A. (Hons) in History and a Master of Arts in Strategic Security Studies. He is an International Counter Terrorism Fellow (ICTF) of the NDU’s College of International Security Affairs, Washington DC.
Throughout his distinguished career spanning over three decades, Major General Undiandeye has held several command, staff, and instructional appointments, contributing significantly to national and global security.
His notable positions include;
Chief of Staff, Headquarters Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps
Director, Lessons Learnt, Army Headquarters Department of Transformation and Innovation
Deputy Commandant, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre
Commandant, Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre, Jaji
Internationally, Major General Undiandeye has served as; Deputy Chief Operations Officer, United
Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL); Deputy Chief of Assessments, UN Headquarters, New York; and as a pioneer seconded officer to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), where he contributed to preventing full-scale conflict between South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan.
His professional excellence has earned him several awards and decorations, including;
Grand Service Star (GSS), Defence Meritorious Star (DMS),
Defence Administration Medal (DAM), Field Command Medal (FCM),
Training Support Medal (TSM), and the
United Nations Headquarters Medal (2013).
Major General Undiandeye is a Fellow of the National Defence College (fdc), Fellow of the National
Defense University, Washington DC (fndu), Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Administration (FCAI),
Fellow of the International Institute of Professional Security (FIIPS), and Fellow of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (FNARC).
His vast experience in intelligence, operations, and strategic leadership equips him with a strong foundation to coordinate the nation’s defence intelligence architecture effectively.
Major General Undiandeye is happily married to Mrs Jane Ekor Undiandeye, and their union is blessed with three children. His hobbies include reading, golf, photography, and nature watching.
On October 24, 2025, the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Rear Admiral Idi Abbas as the new Chief of Naval Staff, following the retirement of Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.
A statement from the Nigerian Navy described Rear Admiral Abbas as a seasoned officer who “brings a distinguished record of service and leadership to the Nigerian Navy.”
Early Life and Education
Rear Admiral Idi Abbas was born on September 20, 1969, and hails from Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State in North-West Nigeria
He began his early education at Gwagwarwa Primary School, Kano, and proceeded to the Air Force Military School, Jos, from 1981 to 1986, before gaining admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in 1987.
Rear Admiral Abbas was commissioned Sub-Lieutenant on September 10, 1993, as a member of NDA 40 Regular Course, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry.
Military Courses and Qualifications
Rear Admiral Abbas is an Above Water Warfare (AWW) specialist who has attended several military courses both in Nigeria and abroad.
His training includes:
Sub-Lieutenant Technical Course at NNS QUORRA (1994)
Junior and Senior Staff Courses at Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji (2001 and 2005)
Officers’ Long Course (OLC XII) at NNS QUORRA, Apapa Lagos (2003)
United Nations Military Observer Course in Tanzania (2009)
National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, Course 23 (2014)
Appointments Held;
Over the years, Rear Admiral Abbas has served in various key positions across the Nigerian Navy.
He started his career onboard several naval ships as a Watch-Keeping Officer, including NNS ARADU, NNS DAMISA, and NNS AYAM.
He later held positions such as:
Naval Assistant to the Deputy Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji (1998)
Staff Officer III, Marine Services, Naval Headquarters (2004)
Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede (N/9318) NAM CMH GSS psc mni FCM FCMH TSM COM CCA
1. Family background: General Oluyede was born on 21 June 1968 in Ikere-Ekiti in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
2. Education: He attended Holy Trinity Primary School, Ikere-Ekiti, and proceeded to Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, for his secondary education. Thereafter, he gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1987 as a member of 39 Regular Course. On completion of his cadet training, he was granted Regular Combatant Commission on 19 December 1992 in the rank of second lieutenant with seniority in the same rank effective 12 September 1987. He is of the Infantry Corps.
3. He became the 29th indigenous Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army, first in acting capacity with effect from 30 October 2024 and substantively, in November 2024.
4. Military career: In the course of his meritorious military career, he has attended several courses both at home and abroad where he distinguished himself creditably. Some of these courses include the Young Officers’Course (Infantry) and Regimental Signal Officers’Course as well as Commanding Officers’ Course, all at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji.
He also attended the United Nations Logistics Officers’ Course at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre, Ghana and the United Nations Military Observers’ Course at the now renamed Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre, Jaji, among others.
Similarly, he attended the prestigious Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, for his Junior and Senior Staff Courses, and he is a member of the national institute and a proud alumnus of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), where he did his Senior Executive Course. He also attended the Strategic Leadership Course at the Nigerian Defence Academy.
5. Qualifications: He holds both Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees in Economics from the Nigerian Defence Academy among others. He has also attended and participated in several workshops, seminars and conferences in the course of his career which contributed in preparing him for the highest appointment in the Nigerian Army.
6. Appointments: General Oluyede has served in several formations, units and training institutions where he held command, staff and instructional appointmentswithin his illustrious years of service. Some of these appointments include Platoon Commander and Company Second in Command in 65 Mechanised Battalion and 177 Guards Battalion respectively. He was Platoon Commander and later Officer Commanding in 2 Amphibious Battalion. For his initial instructional experience, he was Instructor and later Senior Instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy.
He held the appointment of Staff Officer Grade 1 in Charge of Personnel and Welfare Services as well as Logistics and Operations at different times while serving at Headquarters Joint Task Force (Operation RESTORE HOPE) and Headquarters 82 Division respectively. He also served as Deputy Director Examinations at Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command.
He was Chief of Staff at Headquarters 13 Brigade before attending the Senior Executive Course at NIPSS. He was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Civil-Military Cooperation at Headquarters 1 Division and later Director at Army Headquarters Department of Army Standard and Evaluation. He was Commandant of Amphibious Training School. He was appointed Commander 27 Task Force Brigade under Operation LAFIYA DOLE in the North East Theatre from where he was made the Acting Commander Sector 2 in the same theatre.
On his promotion to the rank of Major General, he was appointed substantive Commander Sector 2 Operation LAFIYA DOLE. Thereafter, he was posted to Nigerian Army Resource Centre and appointed Senior Research Fellow after which he was moved to Army Headquarters Department of Army Policy and Plans and appointed Director Plans.
After a brief stint at the Army Headquarters, he was appointed the General Officer Commanding 6 Division. He was later posted to the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, Directorate of Inspection and Compliance and appointed the Director.
7. International/local operations: The seasoned Infantry General has also participated in a number of operations both home and abroad. His posting profile traverses considerable deployments and participation in several Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Operations as well as Internal Security Operations across the country.Indeed, his military exploits began as a young platooncommander in 65 Mechanised Battalion from where he moved with the unit to participate in the historic Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG).
During the ECOMOG operations, he was reported to be full of initiatives and was saddled with the onerous assignment of providing security for the Presidential Lodge, a task he discharged admirably.
He was GOC 6 Division, Officer Commanding in 2 Battalion during the initial militia crisis in Rivers State and also successfully led his company to curb the nefarious activities of the Niger Delta Volunteer Peoples Force,a formidable militant group that threatened the peace and security of Niger Delta region.
8. Awards: He is a recipient of the prestigious Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award in Year 2018,
the Nigerian Army Medal (NAM), Forces Service Star (FSS), Meritorious Service Star (MSS), Distinguished Service Star (DSS) and Grand Service Star (GSS).Others include, Passed Staff Course (psc), Member of the National Institute (mni), Field Command Medal(FCM), Field Command Medal of Honour (FCMH), Training Support Medal (TSM) and General Operations Medal (GOM). He is also a holder of the coveted Corps Medal of Honour (CMH) and prestigious Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award (CCA).
9. Hobbies: Gen. Oluyede enjoys travelling, playing basketball and volleyball. He is married and blessed with children.