Lt. Colonel James Yakubu Gyang Pam (23 November 1933 – 15 January 1966) was one of Nigeria’s pioneering military officers and the first commissioned officer from the Middle Belt region. He was born in Jos, Northern Nigeria, and educated at Barewa College, Zaria—an elite school that produced many Nigerian leaders. He trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom and became Nigeria’s first indigenous artillery officer.
Pam played key roles in early Nigerian military operations, including peacekeeping missions in the Congo (1960–61), the Southern Cameroons plebiscite (1961), and the Tanganyika Army mutiny (1964). He rose to become Adjutant General of the Nigerian Army and was known for his discipline, professionalism, and quiet leadership.
He was a close associate of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. On January 15, 1966, during Nigeria’s first military coup, Pam was abducted from his home in Ikoyi, Lagos, and later executed by coup plotters. His murder, along with other northern officers, deepened ethnic and political tensions that contributed to future instability. Pam is remembered as a symbol of patriotism and sacrifice, and a trailblazer for Middle Belt representation in the Nigerian military.
