The National Reformation Council, or NRC, was a group of senior military officers with

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Andrew Juxon-Smith Brigadier Andrew Terence Juxon-Smith (30 November 1931 – 1996) was a Creole politician and military officer in Sierra Leone. He was briefly (27 March 1967 to 18 April 1968) Chairman of the National Reformation Council and acting Governor-Gene ...

as its chairman, who seized control of the

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

Government of Sierra Leone, government on March 23, 1967. They suspended the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, arresting

David Lansana Brigadier David Lansana (22 March 1922 – 19 July 1975) was the first indigenous armed force commander of the Sierra Leone Military during the colonial era. After Sierra Leone gained independence, he served as Military Attaché to the United St ...

, Commander of the Armed Forces. A few days previously, in a bloodless coup, Lansana had placed

Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens (24 August 1905 – 29 May 1988) was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was ofte ...

, the All People's Congress (APC) candidate and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

, under house arrest and declared

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

; this had been done only hours after

had been declared the new prime minister by Sierra Leone

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston Sir Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston, GCMG (19 August 1898 – 14 December 1969) was a Sierra Leonean diplomat and politician. He was the first Sierra Leonean Governor-General of Sierra Leone. He was a member of the Creole ethnic group (descendan ...

, following closely contested general elections. Lansana acted on the grounds that the determination of office should await the election of the tribal representatives to the house. The NRC was overthrown in April 1968 by a group of military officers who called themselves the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement (ACRM), led by Brigadier

John Amadu Bangura Brigadier John Amadu Bangura, CBE (8 March 1930 – 29 March 1970) was a Sierra Leonean who served as Chief of the Defence Staff of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces from 1968 to 1970. Prior to this in 1967, he served as the Sierra Leonean Amb ...

. The ACRM imprisoned senior NRC members, restored the constitution and reinstated Stevens as Prime Minister.

Book reference

* {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEz1PCvILHUC&q=Conflict+%26+Collusion+in+Sierra+Leone, title=''Conflict and Collusion in Sierra Leone'' , author=Keen, David, publisher=Oxford: James Currey. , year= 2005, isbn=9780852558836 History of Sierra Leone Military dictatorships