was used to dodge or deflect bullets when he was on mission in the Congo. Despite the stories, the crocodile mascot probably had something to do with the fact that the name "Aguiyi" translates as "crocodile" in Igbo. Personal life Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi married his wife, Victoria, in 1953. His son, Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, was appointed to the position of Nigeria's Defence Minister on 30 August 2006, forty years after his father's death. Award The Gallantry Medal was awarded by the Austrian government to Lieutenant Colonel Aguiyi-Ironsi, Maj Njoku, two expatriates and twelve Nigerian soldiers for their role in the Congo in 1960 in freeing an Austrian ambulance unit, which had beem arrested and imprisoned by the Congolese authorities because it claimed to be Belgian parachutists. See also Nigerian First Republic References External links Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi visiting Ibadan the day before his assassination, July 28th 1966 1924 births 1966 deaths People from Umuahia Heads of state of Nigeria Assassinated Nigerian politicians Leaders ousted by a coup Nigerian generals British Army personnel of World War II People of the Congo Crisis Igbo politicians People murdered in Nigeria Assassinated heads of state 20th-century Nigerian politicians Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Chiefs of Army Staff (Nigeria) Members of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Order of the British Empire 1966 murders in Nigeria Genocide perpetrators Royal West African Frontier Force officers