He remained a Major until 1 October 1972 when he was afforded the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel and with it the duties of General Staff Officer Grade II Intelligence.

Colonel Bako led a Nigerian Battalion in peace keeping operations in Lebanon under UNIFIL, UN peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426.

Those 100 former guerrillas formed the pioneer corp of the post-independence Zimbabwe National Army,[3] leading Nigeria's assistance to other Southern African countries like Angola and South Africa in their fight against apartheid and colonialism.

The 28 July 1966 mutiny (often called the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966) was a violent overthrow of General Aguiyi-Ironsi's military government, which came into power after the abortive January 15 coup, spearheaded by Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Lt Col Kaduna Nzeogwu.

[5] Ibrahim Bako (then Director of the Army Faculty at the Armed Forces Command and staff College, Jaji)[3] and acting GOC 1 Division, Kaduna,[1] was requested by the coup conspirators with securing President Shehu Shagari presumably after Shagari's Brigade of Guards had been neutralized (without violence as planned) by Col Tunde Ogbeha.

After arriving at the Presidential residence (in non-military attire) with an armed detachment to secure the President,[6] Bako was shot dead while sitting in the passenger side of a Unimog utility truck[3] in an ensuing firefight between troops from Bako's detachment and the Brigade of Guards soldiers under the command of Captain Augustine Anyogo.