Col. Paul Ogbebor (Retd), the first cadet to enroll at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is dead.
He was 80 years old.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said the former officer’s demise was the end of a life well spent with footprints indelibly printed in the sands of time.
The President recalled that Col Ogbebor pursued an illustrious military career, during which he emerged a hero of the Nigerian Civil War.
“President Buhari salutes the community spirit of the departed, who was in the vanguard of the socio-cultural group, Edo Leaders of Thought, and chieftain of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF)”, a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina said.
The late Col Ogbebor had documented his professional life through a book, Nigerian Defence Academy: A Pioneer Cadet’s Memoir, which the President says is one of the vital resource materials on the pioneer military training institution.
Buhari commiserated with the family, friends and professional colleagues of the departed and urged them to take solace in the fact that Col Ogbebor lived a distinguished life, signposted by many achievements.