He died Saturday morning in Lagos, according to his wife, Folake.
Born in June 1936 in Kaduna, Adekunle served in the the Nigerian Army
from 1958-1974.
According to Wikipedia, Adekunle who served in the Congo crisis and
the Nigeria civil war assumed command of the Lagos Garrison as a
substantive Lt. Col.
"When the Nigerian Civil War erupted in July 1967, Adekunle was tasked
to lead elements which included two new battalions (7th and 8th) - to
conduct the historic sea borne assault on Bonny in the Bight of Benin
on 26 July 1968 (carried out by Major Isaac Adaka Boro's unit).
"This happened after the federal government gained confidence of most
south western ethnic groups as a direct result of Biafran push to
mid-west state and probe into Western region. Adekunle was promoted to
Colonel after the Bonny landing.
" The 6th (under Major Jalo) and 8th (under Major Ochefu) battalions
of the Lagos Garrison subsequently took part in operations to liberate
the Midwest following the Biafran invasion of August 1967. The 7th
(under Major Abubakar) stayed behind to hold Bonny. Because Major
Jalo's Unit was seconded to Lt. Col. Murtala Mohammed's 2nd Division,
Adekunle was left with only the 8th Battalion at Escravos.
" He was therefore, protested to Army HQ and got the Lagos garrison
upgraded to Brigade status through the creation of the 31 and 32
Battalions (under Majors Aliyu and Hamman, respectively). This
formation, combined with elements of the Lagos garrison along the
eastern seaboard, was officially designated the 3 Infantry Division.
However, Colonel Adekunle did not think the name "3 Infantry Division"
was sensational enough nor did it project the nature of the unique
terrain in which his men had to fight. Therefore, without formal
approval from Army HQ, he renamed it the " 3 Marine Commando (3MCDO)."
The "Black Scorpion" as he came to be known, was easily the most
controversial, celebrated and mythologized figure in the war of
attrition that laid the foundations for Nigeria's contemporary crisis;
and threw a wedge into the national fabric. "
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