1966 Nigerian coup d'état
Overthrow of Nigerian government / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A coup d'état began in Nigeria on 15 January 1966, when rebellious soldiers allegedly led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and 4 others killed 22 people[5] including the prime minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, many senior Army officers and their wives, and sentinels on protective duty.[6][7] The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while also blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day timespan before being subdued. The General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, was falsely accused of having been compelled to take control of the government of a country in upheaval, inadvertently putting Nigeria's nascent democracy on hold which was a false alarm.[8] His ascendancy to power was deemed a conspiracy by the coup plotters, who were partly Igbo and Majors from Yoruba and Hausa sub regions, to pave the way for General Aguiyi-Ironsi to be head of state of Nigeria. Consequently, the retaliatory events by Northern members of the Nigerian Army that led to deaths of many innocent Igbo soldiers and civilians caused the Nigerian Civil War.[citation needed]
1966 Nigerian coup d'etat | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Government of Nigeria | Rebel Army Officers | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nnamdi Azikiwe[2] Nwafor Orizu[3] Abubakar Balewa † Ahmadu Bello † Samuel Akintola † Festus Okotie-Eboh † Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi |
Kaduna Nzeogwu Adewale Ademoyega Emmanuel Ifeajuna [4] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
unknown | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
22 dead | 0 |