Chief Mrs. Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi, wife of late Nigerian Head of State, Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, has passed away.
The former first lady died on Monday at 97. She would have been 98 on November 21, 2021.
Victoria Aguyi-Ironsi was the second First Lady of Nigeria from 16 January 1966 to 29 July 1996.
Her husband, Aguiyi-Ironsi was the supreme commander of National Military Government for six months before being overthrown and assassinated in 1966 Nigerian counter-coup.
Aguiyi-Ironsi, who was the first Nigerian military head of state, was killed in Ibadan by a countercoup led by Murtala Muhammed and which led to the installtion of Yakubu Gowon.
Following the death of her husband, Chief Mrs. Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi never re-married.
Reflecting on her life after the gruesome murder of her husband in an interview with TheGuardian on June 3, 2016, she said;
The truth is that 29th of July this year will be 50 years since my husband was killed. By then, I had eight children. I have seen hell and at the same time, I have seen heaven.
May her soul rest in peace.
