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COMING UP: Against the backdrop of many inaccurate renditions in the local and foreign media about the life and times of General DOMKAT YAH BALI (1940 - 2020), we shall lay down the most precise and militarily accurate profile of the man that you have read thus far, later TODAY
1a. General Domkat Bali commenced his cadet preparatory training as a member of the Course 3 cohort of the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna, in April 1961(this is contrary to a report by a foreign medium which suggested that he began training at Sandhurst in April 1961)
1b. Some of his course mates in the NMTC Course 3 cohort were Lt Gen MI Wushishi, Maj Gen Geoffrey Ejiga, Colonel Ibrahim Taiwo, Brigadier Abbas Wali, Colonel ADS Wya et al. Most of Bali's mates trained at MONS. Only four made the cut for Sandhurst (Bali, Wya and two others)
1c. Bali reported for training at Sandhurst in Q1 1962 and was commissioned in December 1963. He and his mate, Abdul Wya, found themselves in the artillery corps.
2. Of the officers who were commissioned into the army between 1959 and 1966, Bali epitomised the finest pedigree for he not only attended Sandhurst but also the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies - a feat which only a few such as Gens Bissala + Akinrinade managed
3. Captain Bali was 2-i-c of the Field Battery at Abeokuta on the night of the 28 July 1966 mutiny. He went to town for a drink alongside his immediate senior at Sandhurst, Captain Moh'd Remawa who was 2-i-c of the Reece Squadron.
4. Bali fought in the civil war and sustained an injury which resulted in the pronounced limp which he was known for whilst he was a public figure in the 1980s
5. Following the 1976 execution of his NMTC + Sandhurst peer, Colonel ADS Wya, Bali emerged as commander of the artillery corps. In Q2 1976, promotions which had retroactive effect saw Bali emerge as a brigadier w.e.f 1 November 1975.
In 1978, Brigadier Bali was appointed GOC of the 1 Infantry Division, additionally gaining membership of the hallowed Supreme Military Council. He gained promotion to the rank of major general in 1979
6a. Following the ouster of the civilian-led government on 31 Dec 1983, Bali emerged as defence minister and a member of the Supreme Military Council. He was far and away the most senior officer at the time, having attained the rank of major general four years earlier than Buhari
