Famous assassinations
GENERAL SANI ABACHA
ABACHA
General Sani Abacha died in June 1998 while at the presidential villa in Abuja. He was buried on the same day, according to Muslim tradition, without an autopsy. This fueled speculation that he may have been executed exextrajudicialy byway of being poisoned by political rivals via prostitutes. On the contrary, the government cited his cause of death as a sudden heart attack. It is reported that he was in the company of two Indian prostitutes imported from Dubai. It is thought that these prostitutes laced his drink with a poisonous substance, making Abacha feel unwell around 4:30am. He retired to his bed and was dead by 6:15am.
John Lennon Wikipedia
John Lennon was one of the founding members of The Beatles, who had gone on to have worldwide success as a member of the band, and also as a peace activist. On December 8th 1980, Lennon was in New York City. As he was returning to his hotel that evening a man shouted his name. As Lennon turned around, the man shot Lennon four times. Lennon then stumbled into the hotel and collapsed. While this was taking place, the assassin Mark David Chapman dropped his weapon and sat on the street, waiting to be arrested. He was charged with murder and remains in prison to this day. His motivation for the murder is unclear.
Nigeria’s first prime minister
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was overthrown and murdered in a military coup on January 15, 1966, as were many other leaders, including his old companion Ahmadu Bello. The circumstances of his death still remain unresolved. His body was discovered by a roadside near Lagos six days after he was ousted from office. Balewa was buried in Bauchi. News of his murder spurred violent riots throughout Northern Nigeria and ultimately led to the bloody counter-coup of July 1966.
Robert F. Kennedy Wikipedia
US Senator Robert F. Kennedy was the younger brother of John F. Kennedy. He was shot in the early hours of June 5th 1968 by a man named Sirhan Sirhan. A day later, Kennedy died in hospital. Kennedy had been shot four times at point-blank range. RFK as he was sometimes known had been a Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party. It is unknown what Sirhan’s motivation for killing Kennedy was, however, it is assumed he was a Palestinian terrorist seeking revenge for the US support of Israel in the Six Day’s War of 1967. Kennedy died aged 42.
Malcolm X Wikipedia
Malcolm X, also known as Malcolm Little was an American black Muslim minister. He is often seen as the man behind the Black Power movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s in which African Americans radicalised and became driven toward freedom and towards gaining the respect of their fellow Americans. Malcolm had previously been a member of the Nation of Islam, however, he had become a Sunni Muslim. Apparently, following this, the Nation of Islam had given orders for the assassination of Malcolm X. On February 21st 1965, Malcolm had begun giving a speech when a man rushed through the crowd and shot Malcolm X with a sawn-off shotgun. Two other men joined in and Malcolm was shot a total of 16 times. The three men who killed Malcolm X were all members of the Nation of Islam. Despite often being labelled as a cold-hearted radical and a menace, the world was sympathetic towards Malcolm following his assassination. Malcolm X died aged 39.
Martin Luther King Jr. Wikipedia
Martin Luther King was the main man behind the American Civil Rights Movement. The movement was an attempt to abolish the racial discrimination of African Americans. King himself was black. On April 4th 1968, while standing on the balcony of his second floor motel room, King was fatally shot. Following the assassination there were riots in over 60 cities across the USA, and five days later, President Johnson declared a day of mourning. Two months later, escaped convict James Earl Ray was captured in London, and was extradited to Tennessee where he faced the a charge of murder against King. Ray was a white man who was opposed the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
Abraham Lincoln Wikipedia
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, and held tenure from 1861 until his death in 1865. John Wilkes Booth was a Confederate spy, who had become angry at the President because of his support for the freedoms of African Americans. He became determined to assassinate Lincoln. On April 14th 1865, Lincoln was going to the theater. With the presence of only one bodyguard wandering through the theater, Booth seized his opportunity. He waited until laughter filled the theater and shot the President in the head. Booth escaped, but was caught and fatally shot twelve days later. Lincoln was aged 56 at the time of his death.
Julius Caesar Wikipedia
Julius Caesar was a Roman political and military figure in the 1st century B.C. He was a successful military leader and following considerable success he started a civil war in the Roman Republic. Following this, he was proclaimed dictator. However, some senators in Rome were disillusioned by what Caesar had done, and so planned an assassination to take place on the Ides of March. While walking past the Theater of Pompey, Caesar was stopped by a group of Senators to read a fake bill which was allegedly to give power back to the Senate. As Caesar did this, he was stabbed. According to historical evidence, there were as many as 60 Senators present. After Caesar was stabbed he tried to run away, but fell and was stabbed repeatedly on the floor. He had 23 stab wounds. His death marked the end of the Roman Republic, and out of the bloody aftermath emerged the Roman Empire. At the time of his death, Caesar was 57 years old.
Franz Ferdinand Wikipedia
Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand, and therefore heir to the Austrian throne is largely considered to be the catalyst for the beginning of World War I. On June 28th 1914 he was on a visit to Sarajevo, which was at that time a territory of Austria. While riding in an open-top car, he and his wife Sophie were shot by members of The Black Hand which was a Serbian group attempting to gain independence for all the states annexed by Austria-Hungary. World War I began two months after the assassination, with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. This declaration of war started a domino effect across Europe in which all the allies of Serbia declared war on Austria-Hungary and all of its allies. At the time of his murder, Ferdinand had been 50 years old.
John F. Kennedy Wikipedia
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. He served from January 20th 1961 until his death on November 22nd 1963. His Presidency was one of the most event-filled of the 20th century. The space race, American Civil Rights Movement, Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, and the beginning of the Vietnam War all took place during his Presidency. Despite there being hundreds of witnesses to his assassination there is a lot of confusion surrounding Kennedy’s death to this day, leading many to suspect a conspiracy. Just before 12:30pm, Kennedy was travelling through Dallas in his open-top limousine. Three shots were then fired from a high-powered rifle, which all entered the president. Kennedy died soon after in hospital. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the murder of the President. This assassination in particular has had many conspiracies theorists, especially considering the until he died, Oswald maintained his innocence. Among those who have been accused are the FBI, Cuba, the CIA or the USSR. Many believe that there could have been a conspiracy among these groups. There has never been any conclusive evidence to prove that Oswald acted alone, or if he was even involved in the murder. Despite numerous investigations, the death is still shrouded in mystery.
Mohandas Gandhi Wikipedia
INDIA
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot and killed while having his nightly public walk on the grounds of the Birla Bhavan (Birla House) in New Delhi. The assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a Hindu radical with links to the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator Narayan Apte were later tried and convicted; they were executed on 15 November 1949. Gandhi’s memorial at R?j Gh?t, New Delhi, bears the epigraph “H? Ram”, which may be translated as “Oh God”. These are widely believed to be Gandhi’s last words after he was shot, though the veracity of this statement has been disputed.
Lee Harvey Oswald
On Sunday, November 24, Oswald was being led through the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters in advance of his transfer to the county jail. At 11:21 a.m., Dallas nightclub operator Jack Ruby stepped from the crowd and shot Oswald in the chest, the bullet striking several organs, penetrating his stomach, and tearing his vena cava and aorta. Oswald was rushed unconscious to Parkland Memorial Hospital—the same hospital where doctors tried to save President Kennedy’s life two days earlier. Oswald died at 1:07 p.m An autopsy was performed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner at 2:45 p.m. the same day. The stated cause of death in the autopsy report was “hemorrhage secondary to gunshot wound of the chest.”
A network television camera, there to cover the transfer, was broadcasting live, and millions witnessed the shooting on television as it happened.The event was also captured in several well-known photographs
SAMUEL DOE
Charles Taylor, a former ally of Doe’s, crossed into Liberia from Ivory Coast on December 24, 1989, to wage a guerrilla war against Doe. Taylor had broken out of a jail in the United States, where he was awaiting extradition to Liberia on charges of embezzlement. By mid-1990 most of Liberia was controlled by rebel factions.
Doe was captured in Monrovia by faction leader Prince Y. Johnson on September 9, 1990. Doe had been visiting ECOMOG peacekeeping headquarters in Monrovia when Johnson arrived with his forces and seized Doe after a bloody gun battle. Doe was taken to Johnson’s military base and tortured before being killed and exposed naked in the streets of Monrovia. His ears were cut off, then some of his fingers and toes; the next day the rest of his body was cut up cooked and eaten. The spectacle of his torture was videotaped and seen on news reports around the world. The video shows Johnson sipping a Budweiser as Doe’s ear is cut off.
SARDAUNA
Ahmadu Bello’s greatest legacy was the modernization and unification of the diverse people of Northern Nigeria. He was assassinated on 15 January 1966 in a coup which toppled Nigeria’s post-independence government. He was still serving as premier of Northern Nigeria at the time.
JOHNSON AGUYI-RONSI
IRONSI WAS NIGERIA’S FIRST MILITARY HEAD OF STATE
On July 29, 1966, Ironsi spent the night at the Government House Ibadan as part of a nation-wide tour. His host, Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, Military Governor of Western Nigeria, alerted him to a possible mutiny within the army. Ironsi desperately tried to contact his Army Chief of Staff, Yakubu Gowon, but he was unreachable. In the early hours of the morning, the Government House, Ibadan, was surrounded by soldiers led by Theophilus Danjuma. Danjuma arrested Ironsi and questioned him about his alleged complicity in the coup, which saw the demise of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello. The Circumstances leading to Ironsi’s death still remain a subject of much controversy in Nigeria, His body and that of Fajuyi were later discovered in a nearby forest.
MURTALA MUHAMMED
Murtala Muhammed was killed along with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa, on February 13, 1976 in an abortive coup attempt led by Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka, when his car was ambushed while en route to his office at Dodan Barracks, Lagos. He was succeeded by the Chief of Staff, Supreme HQ Olusegun Obasanjo, who completed his plan of an orderly transfer to civilian rule by handing power to Shehu Shagari on October 1, 1979. Today, his portrait adorns the 20 Naira Note and he stands one of the only three national heroes of the Nigerian Republic. Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos is named in his honor.
DELE GIWA
A package was delivered to Giwa’s guard (the accounts of which vehicle was used to deliver the package vary). When Giwa received the package, he was with Kayode Soyinka the London Bureau Chief of Newswatch. The package exploded, mortally wounded Giwa and temporarily deafening Soyinka, who had excused himself to the rest room shortly before Giwa was supposed to have attempted opening the package. Giwa was rushed to the hospital where he eventually died from his wounds.
BENAZIR BHUTTO
On 27 December 2007, Benazir Bhutto was killed while leaving a campaign rally for the PPP at Liaquat National Bagh in the run-up to the January 2008 parliamentary elections. After entering her bulletproof vehicle, Bhutto stood up through its sunroof to wave to the crowds. At this point, a gunman fired shots at her, and subsequently explosives were detonated near the vehicle killing approximately 20 people.Bhutto was critically wounded and was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital. She was taken into surgery at 17:35 local time, and pronounced dead at 18:16
NICHOLAS II OF RUSSIA
Nicholas was carrying his son; when the family arrived in the basement, the former empress complained that there were no chairs for them to sit on. Yurovsky ordered two chairs brought in, and when the empress and the heir were seated, the executioners filed into the room. Yurovsky announced to them that they had been condemned to death by the Ural Soviet of Workers’ Deputies. A stunned Nicholas asked, “What? What?” and turned toward his family. Yurovsky quickly repeated the order and shot the former emperor outright.The executioners drew revolvers and the shooting began. Nicholas was the first to die; Yurovsky shot him multiple times in the chest (sometimes incorrectly said the head, since his skull bore no bullet wounds when it was discovered in 1991). Anastasia, Tatiana, Olga, and Maria survived the first hail of bullets; the sisters were wearing over 1.3 kilograms of diamonds and precious gems sewn into their clothing, which provided some initial protection from the bullets and bayonets. They were stabbed with bayonets and then shot at close range in the head.
An announcement from the Presidium of the Ural Regional Soviet of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Government emphasised that conspiracies had been exposed to free the ex-tsar, as well as how counter-revolutionary forces were pressing in on Soviet Russian territory, and that the ex-tsar was guilty of unforgivable crimes against the nation.
curated from wikipedia
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