Topic summary
1966 Nigerian coup d'état
Nwafor Orizu
Abubakar BalewaX
Ahmadu BelloX
Samuel AkintolaX
Festus Okotie-EbohX
Michael Okpara(POW)
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
Kaduna Nzeogwu (WIA)
Emmanuel Ifeajuna
Emmanuel Nwobosi
On 15 January 1966, soldiers led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and four others carried out a military putsch, killing 22 people, including Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Northern Premier Ahmadu Bello, many senior politicians, senior Army officers and their wives, and sentinels on protective duty. The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day timespan, before being overcome by loyalist forces.
Although the coup was considered a failure, it still resulted in a change from an elected government to a military government, albeit led by a different set of senior officers. It also marked the start of a series of military coups in Nigeria. There were no national elections in Nigeria until 1979.