Then Major Oluleye was second-in-command to Lt. Col Mohammed Shuwa at the 5th Battalion in Kano during the Nigerian Army Mutiny of July 1966 where many Igbo military officers were systematically murdered by their northern counterparts for what the northern soldiers perceived as retribution for the January 15, 1966 coup (which was led by mostly Igbo officers). Foreseeing the potential for large scale bloodshed, Major Oluleye asked his company commanders to lock up the battalion armory and to store the keys in his safe. As a result of Oluleye's leadership and foresight, many Igbo officers lives were spared in Kano during the July mutiny.