Colonel Tanko Zubairu was the Military Administrator of Imo State, Nigeria from August 1996 until May 1999, when he handed over to the elected civilian governor Achike Udenwa.During his tenure, he had to deal with violent protests over ritual killings. In 1997 he signed warrants for execution by firing squad of six men accused of this crime.Bob Njemanze, a member of the Njemanze ruling dynasty in Owerri, Imo State, described Zubairu's tenure as that of "a soldier in a hurry to nowhere and getting to nowhere".