He and his wife were killed in the 1966 coup when coupists led by Timothy Onwuatuegwu, an instructor at the Nigerian Military Training College barged into his room and was shot dead on his bed. In an eye witness account of the murder of Samuel Ademulegun in an interview by his daughter, Mrs. Solape Ademulegun-Agbi, she narrates how her father was killed by military officers. Her account provides details of the invasion and gruesome murder of the former General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1st Division in Kaduna state. Killed in what is considered Nigeria's first coup, the perpetrators are recorded to believe to be ridding the country of corrupt politicians and those who were close to them.