Theophilus Danjuma General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma GCON FSS psc ( Rtd ) ( born 9 December 1938 ) is a Nigerian Jukun soldier , politician and multi - millionaire businessman . He was Nigerian Army Chief of Army Staff from July 1975 to October 1979 . He was also Minister of Defence under Olusegun Obasanjo . Danjuma is chairman of South Atlantic Petroleum ( SAPETRO ) . Early life . Danjuma was born in Takum , Taraba State ( formally Gongola ) , Nigeria to Kuru Danjuma and Rufkatu Asibi . Takum was mainly a farming community when Danjuma was young , the crops grown there such as yams , rice , cassava and beniseed were cultivated largely by families and clans . His father was a hardworking peasant whose ancestors were all highly respected members of the community . Kuru Danjuma was a farmer who also traded in metal parts for farming implements and tools . Theophilus Danjuma started his education at St Bartholomew ’ s Primary School in Wusasa and moved onto the Benue Provincial Secondary School in Katsina - Ala where he was the captain of the school cricket 1st XI team , he received his Higher School Certificate in 1958 . In 1959 Danjuma enrolled at the Nigerian College of Arts Science and Technology in Zaria ( Ahmadu Bello University ) to study History on a Northern Nigeria Scholarship . However by the end of 1960 , Danjuma had left university in order to enrol with the Nigerian Army . Military career . Danjuma was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as second lieutenant and platoon commander in the Congo and in 1963 joined a UN Peace - keeping force in Sante , Kataga Province in Congo when he was promoted to captain three years later . In 1966 Captain Danjuma was involved in a counter - coup with the 4th Battalion in Mokola , Ibadan . On July 29 , 1966 , Johnson Aguiyi - 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 . Aguiyi - Ironsi desperately tried to contact his Army Chief of Staff , Yakubu Gowon , but he was unreachable ( Perhaps deliberately ) . In the early hours of the morning , the Government House Ibadan was surrounded by soldiers led by Theophilus Danjuma . Danjuma arrested Aguiyi - Ironsi and questioned him about his alleged complicity in the coup which saw the demise of the Sardauna of Sokoto , Ahmadu Bello . Although some have argued that Fajuyi was not a target in this counter - coup , Danjuma , Walbe and others have gone on record to say that they probably wanted him " for questioning " as much as they did his boss , Aguiyi - Ironsi . Fajuyi was seen as a so - called progressive , who had supported the Nzeogwu coup in January of that year . The bullet - riddled bodies of Aguiyi - Ironsi and Fajuyi were later found in a nearby forest , and Yakubu Gowon became the new military head of state . A year later , in 1967 , he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the start of the campaign towards Enugu , which was captured later in that year . In 1970 Danjuma attended the International Court Martial in Trinidad and Tobago as Nigeria ' s representative , when he was appointed president of the tribunal in a case brought against members of a failed coup attempt in Trinidad and Tobago . Following his promotion to Colonel in 1971 he spent next two years with responsibility for court - martialling Army officers proven guilty of corruption and indiscipline . In 1975 he was promoted to Brigadier and the position of General Officer Commanding ( GOC ) and in the following year he became the Chief of Army Staff to the Head of State Olusegun Obasanjo . He played a prominent role in supporting the president in resisting the Dimka Coup in 1976 . He retired from the Nigerian army in 1979 Business career . Nigeria America Line ( NAL ) Formed in 1979 by General TY Danjuma ( Rtd ) , Nigeria American Line ( NAL ) began business and initially leased a ship called ' Hannatu ' which traded between Lagos and Santos in Brazil when Nigeria ' s bilateral trade agreement had opened the sea routes to economies in the South American markets . NAL went on to win patronage from Nigeria ' s National Supply Company ( NNSC ) to bring in government goods from . NAL ' s list of growing clients included DICON Salt ( Nigeria ) and project cargoes for Iwopin Paper Mill , ANNAMCO and Volkswagen Nigeria . NAL became a member of AWAFC ( American West African Freight Conference ) , Brazil - Nigeria Freight Conference and the Mediterranean Line ( MEWAC ) . With the formation of the National Maritime Authority ( NMA ) IN 1987 / 88 , the profile of NAL increased as NMA encouraged indigenous operators to claim their share of internationally traded cargo involving Nigeria . NAL began with a core indigenous staff of about 12 in 1979 . In 2009 staff in NAL - COMET is closer to 250 including approximately 12 expatriate staff members . From the Lagos office the NAL - COMET Group has opened branch offices in Port Harcourt which serves Onne , Warri and Calabar seaports . COMET Shipping Agencies Nigeria Ltd COMET Shipping Agencies Nigeria Limited was established in 1984 by Danjuma , primarily to act as an agent for Nigeria American Line ( NAL ) . COMET has grown and by the late nineties became one of the largest independent agents operating in Nigeria with experience in handling many types of vessels and cargo . In 2009 Comet handled over 200 vessels at the ports of Lagos , Port Harcourt , Calabar and Warri . In 2005 NAL - COMET acquired a roll - in - roll - out port ( RORO ) in Lagos which makes it the largest independent port operators in Africa . South Atlantic Petroleum Limited ( SAPETRO ) South Atlantic Petroleum ( SAPETRO ) is a Nigerian oil exploration and production company that was created in 1995 by General T . Y . Danjuma . The ministry of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria awarded the Oil Prospecting License ( OPL ) 246 to SAPETRO in February 1998 . The block covers a total area of 2 , 590km2 ( 1 , 000 sq . miles ) . SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd ( TUPNI ) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Ltd ( Petrobras ) to start prospecting on OPL246 . Akpo , a condensate field was discovered in April 2000 with the drilling of the first exploration well ( Akpo 1 ) on the block . Other discoveries made on OPL 246 include the Egina Main , Egina South , Preowei and Kuro ( Kuro was suspended as a dry gas / minor oil discovery ) . In 2004 , SAPETRO ’ s subsidiary in Benin won through a competitive tender process an oil exploration contract covering 550 square kilometres offshore from the Republic of Benin . In February 2005 , SAPETRO was granted Oil Mining Lease ( OML ) 130 and thereafter the Federal government backed in through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) . In June 2006 , SAPETRO divested part of its contractor rights and obligations to China National Offshore Oil Corporation ( CNOOC ) . SAPETRO produced its " first oil " ( condensate ) on the 4th March 2009 . In December 2009 SAPETRO donated a new state of the art medical centre to the Nasarawa State University . The medical centre , to be known as South Atlantic Petroleum Medical Centre would be available to serve the University , the local and neighbouring communities . Politics . Since 1999 Danjuma has played an active role in Nigerian politics , some of his key appointments have been : While in Office , Gen TY Danjuma sought to curb the politicisation of the military , and was a firm supporter of democracy and the Rule of Law . He also oversaw the renaming of all Nigerian barracks and cantons from those of civilian or living persons . He was also widely known to be an avid opponent of President Obasanjo ' s attempts in 2006 to engineer a way that would enable himself and state governors to serve more than two consecutive terms . TY Danjuma Foundation . In December 2008 , the TY Danjuma Foundation was created in Nigeria . The Foundation ' s principal aims are to provide durable advantages through the implementation of development programs . The Foundation plans to operate more as a philanthropic organisation rather than simply as a charity . This would allow for the foundation to seek out other deserving causes and Non Governmental Organizations ( NGOs ) to partner with and make grants available . The TY Danjuma Foundation seeks to alleviate poverty in communities by providing basic amenities , education for children and young adults while also providing free medical care for indigent people . Currently , USD500 , 000 has been given out as grants to NGOs working to relieve suffering in Danjuma ’ s home state of Taraba . Taraba is historically one of Nigeria ' s most impoverished states , compounded by the absence of a health service which catered for the masses . Furthermore , the state has the highest case of river blindness and other debilitating illnesses . The TY Danjuma Foundation is currently partnering with over 50 NGOs throughout Nigeria , and with the support and cooperation of 36 state governors . One of the many NGOs which is being supported by the Foundation is CASVI working in Takum , Wukari and Donga . CASVI ' s main area of expertise is on the provision of free eye care services such as the treatment of river blindness in Wukari , Ibi and Donga .