The Gap

History of military coups in Nigeria, Africa

History of military coups in Nigeria, Africa

Military coups became prevalent in most African countries in the 1960s, years just after they gained independence from their colonial masters. Over 40 coups occurred between 1960 and 1980 across various African countries, leading to varied outcomes in the various places where they occurred.

Although the military is an organisation authorised by its greater society to use weapons in defending its country against perceived or actual threats, the military commandants in different countries claim that they are forced to carry out coups, suddenly topple governments and suspend their powers because of several reasons. Some of the reasons enunciated by the military for intervening in the political process include political instability, economic crisis, the entrenchment of sectionalism and nepotism in the polity, a cutback in military expenditure, and politicised promotion in the military.

However, one principle the military does not state and brazenly violates when carrying out coups is their lack of submission to the doctrine of civilian supremacy. The doctrine stipulates that the military should always subordinate itself to civilian control, a factor which is not fully adhered to in developing countries, including Africa. That is why in the 21st century, the continent, particularly in the sub-Sahara area, has witnessed a plethora of military coups, especially from 2020 to date.

Military coups in Nigeria

Nigeria might have enjoyed 23 years of uninterrupted democracy, but it has experienced its fair share of military coups. The country witnessed six successful coups and two attempted coups organised by officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army from 1967 to 1993.

Below is a list of the coups that have occurred in the country.

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January 1966 coup

Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi

Three years after becoming a republic, Nigeria experienced its first military coup. On January 15, 1966, a group of young military officers, led by Patrick “Kaduna” Nzeogwu, overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

The coup was a bloody one as it led to the assassinations of Balewa; Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region; Ladoke Akintola, Premier of the Southern Region; Festus Okotie-Eboh, Minister of Finance; and the four highest-ranking northern military officers, including Brigadier-General Samuel Ademulegun, Commander of the 1 Brigade; and Brigadier-General Zakariya Maimalari, Commander of the 2nd Brigade, Lagos.

According to the coup plotters, who were mainly officers of Igbo extraction, they carried out the coup because the leaders of the country were allegedly corrupt and had looted the country’s resources. Following the incident and the outcome, Nwafor Orizu, the Senate President, who was the acting President of the country, announced in a nationwide broadcast the cabinet’s decision to transfer power voluntarily to the military. Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, also an officer of Igbo extraction but did not participate in the coup, assumed power as the military head of state and effectively suspended the constitution, dissolved all legislative parties, banned political parties, and formed an interim federal military government.

July 1966 counter-coup

Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon

There was unrest in the military and northern Nigeria over the military leadership’s apparent lack of punishment for the January 1966 coup plotters. The coup had seen mainly military officers and individuals of northern extraction killed by the coup planners. Other reasons for agitation include the passage of the Unification Decree and the promotion of several Igbo Majors to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonels.

With the reasons for their agitations not attended to six months after, northern officers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Murtala Muhammed (Inspector of Signals, Lagos) and Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Akahan (Commander, 4th Battalion Kaduna) began a mutiny against the government at midnight of July 28, 1966.

On the following day, July 29, the Head of State, General Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he was visiting. Also assassinated was Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi, Governor of the Western Region, who was hosting the head of state. The circumstances of their death are still unclear today, as their bodies were discovered in a nearby forest.

Following the assassination of Ironsi, Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon became the country’s new head of state.

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July 1975 coup

Brigadier-General Murtala Muhammed

At the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, Gowon, who promoted himself to the rank of General, promised that military rule would be terminated on October 1, 1976. But in 1974, he suddenly announced a postponement in the transition to democracy, claiming that Nigerians were not ready for the change.

A faction of military officers was unhappy with the announcement. Led by Colonel Joseph Nanven Garba, these officers overthrew the administration of Gowon on July 29, 1975, in a bloodless coup. The head of state was attending a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Kampala, Uganda, when his government was overthrown.

The coup plotters appointed Brigadier-General Murtala Muhammed as head of state and Brigadier-General Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy.

1976 attempted coup

Obasanjo as Military Head of State
First Phase Digital

On February 13, 1976, Muhammed, who promoted himself to a full general, was assassinated by Lieutenant-Colonel Buka Suka Dimka, who had attempted to overthrow the government. Muhammed was assassinated along with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa, when his car was ambushed in Ikoyi, Lagos, while on his way to Dodan Barracks, which served as the Supreme Military Headquarters.

According to Dimka, in a planned radio broadcast, he attempted to overthrow the regime because of perceived corruption and maladministration and arrest and detention of people without trial. However, the coup was not successful as it did not have the support of senior military commanders. Government troops crushed the coup attempt several hours later, and Lieutenant-General Obasanjo, the deputy to the killed Muhammed, assumed office as the head of state.

Meanwhile, Dimka retreated and hid after the coup attempt failed. But after a three-week manhunt, he was arrested near Abakaliki, in present-day Ebonyi State, by the military. A total of 32 people were sentenced to death by a court-martial, including Dimka and the defence minister, Major-General Illiya D. Bisalla. Dimka and six co-conspirators were executed by firing squad on May 15, 1976.

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1983 coup

Major-General Buhari

Four years after Nigeria’s return to democracy, a group of senior military officers, on December 31, 1983, toppled the administration of Shehu Shagari, a democratically elected president, who had begun his second term as the leader of the country.

The coup plotters were reportedly led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armored Division, Jos. The planners had orchestrated the coup to be a bloodless one, but due to possibly a lack of communication, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Bako, who was given the responsibility of arresting President Shagari after negotiations with the president’s team, ended up being the sole causality of the coup. Bako was killed in an ensuing firefight between soldiers from his detachment and the Brigade of Guards soldiers led by Captain Augustine Anyogo.

According to Brigadier-General Sani Abacha, in the first military broadcast after the coup, the government of Shagari was overthrown because it was “inept and corrupt.” Major-General Buhari was installed as head of state.

1985 coup

Major-General Ibrahim Babangida

On August 27, 1985, a group of military officers led by Major-General Ibrahim Babangida, the Chief of Army Staff, overthrew the regime of Major-General Buhari. It was a bloodless affair as the head of state was not in Lagos, the country’s then-capital, and his second-in-command, Major-General Tunde Idiagbon, who doubled as the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, travelled to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage.

Addressing the country via a radio broadcast after the coup was successfully carried out, Babangida said the act was carried out because of the “rigid and uncompromising” of the Buhari regime. He also claimed that the ousted regime demonstrated “inconsistency and incompetence.”

Babangida subsequently became the new head of state, while Buhari was detained in Benin City, Edo State, until 1988. Idiagbon was placed under house arrest for three years.

1990 coup attempt

Major-General Ibrahim Babangida

A faction of military officers, led by Major Gideon Orkar, attempted to topple the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida on April 22, 1990. Orkar and his co-conspirators attacked various military posts around Lagos, including Dodan Barracks, the presidential residence; it was learnt that Babangida was present when the barracks was attacked but managed to escape by a back route.

The coup plotters also seized the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) radio station in Lagos. Addressing the nation via a radio broadcast at 4 am that same day, Orkar accused Babangida of planning to install himself as Nigeria’s life president and the Federal Military Government of marginalising the people of Niger Delta and the entire Southern part of the country. He also called for the obliteration of the five northern states from Nigeria.

However, the coup failed as senior military commanders announced their support for Babangida, and the plotters were subdued 10 hours later. A total of 42 men, comprising military officials and civilians, were arrested and convicted of involvement in the coup. They were executed by firing squad on July 27, 1990.

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1993 coup

General Sani Abacha

Following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election and the enormous pressure mounted on him, General Babangida announced his resignation and appointed Ernest Shonekan as interim president on August 26, 1993.

But on November 17, 1993, just nearing three months into the lifespan of the Interim National Government, General Sani Abacha, the Minister of Defence, overthrew the government. It was a bloodless military coup, as Shonekan was forced to resign.

In a nationwide broadcast following the coup, Abacha cited the stagnant nature of Shonekan’s government and his inability to manage the democratic process in the country as the reason for the toppling of the government.

Military coups in Africa

Military coups in Africa

As earlier mentioned, military coups were a regular occurrence in Africa in the decades that followed independence from the 1960s to 1970s.

The first notable coup on the continent was the dismissal of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba of the Congo in September 1960. Even though the removal was successful, it was not a military coup as Lumumba was ousted from power by President Joseph Vasa-Kubu.

Five other coup attempts or actual coups were conducted from 1960 to 1962, with three being military-led and two planned by civilians. However, none of the military coups was successful; the coup plan in Senegal was quashed, while the 1961 assembly in Rwanda led to the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republican political system.

But on January 13, 1963, the military in Togo assassinated the country’s first president, Sylvanus Olympio, outside the American embassy in Lomé, the Togolese capital. This was the first successful military coup d’état in the French and British colonies of Africa that had achieved or were in the process of gaining independence in the 1950s and 1960s. The Togo coup was contagious, as it led to a quick succession of military coups across the continent.

Although the phenomenon has reduced in recent years with many African countries adopting the democratic rule, the political instability in these countries, especially those located in the Central and West African sub-regions, has seen a dramatic rise in coups. At least nine attempted or actual military coups have been on the continent from 2020 to 2022 alone.

Since this piece focuses on coups organised by the armed forces of countries, below is a list of attempted and actual coups organised by the military of countries, armed guerilla/rebel groups, and mercenaries in Africa since 1960.

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COUNTRIES YEAR OF COUP
Ethiopia 1960
French Algeria  (present-day Algeria) 1961

 

Somalia
Togo 1963

 

Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic)
Gabon 1964

 

Zanzibar
Algeria 1965

 

Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic)
Burundi
Democratic Republic of Congo
Central African Republic
Burundi 1966 (July and November)

 

 

 

1966

 

 

 

 

 

1966

 

 

 

1966 (January and July)

 

 

1966

Ghana
Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso)
Nigeria
Republic of the Congo
Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic) 1967

 

Ghana
Togo
Mali 1968

 

Republic of the Congo
Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic) 1969

 

1969

 

1969 (September and December)

 

1969

Sudan
Libya
Somalia
Uganda 1971

 

Morocco
Sudan
Uganda 1972

 

Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic)
Ghana
Morocco
Republic of the Congo
Rwanda 1973
Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso) 1974

 

Uganda
Niger
Ethiopia
Comoros 1975

 

Sudan
Libya
Nigeria
Chad
Comoros 1976

1976

1976

1976

Sudan
Burundi
Nigeria
Benin Republic 1977

 

 

 

1977

 

 

 

 

 

1977

 

 

 

 

1977

 

 

1977 (June and October)

Seychelles
Sudan
Republic of the Congo
Uganda
Somalia 1978

 

Comoros
Ghana
Mauritania
Mauritania 1979
Ghana
Equatorial Guinea
Central African Republic
Mauritania 1980

 

Liberia
Guinea Bissau
Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso)
Mauritania 1981
The Gambia
Central African Republic
Ghana
Seychelles
Central African Republic 1982
Kenya
Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso)
Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso) 1983 (February and August)

1983

Nigeria
Mauritania 1984
Cameroon
Guinea
Uganda 1985
Nigeria
Sudan
Guinea
Liberia
Lesotho 1986
Togo
Burkina Faso 1987
Burundi
Republic of the Congo
Sudan 1989

 

 

 

 

 

(mainly insurrection/uprising)

Burkina Faso
Ethiopia
Chad
Uganda
Sudan 1990
Nigeria
Chad
Zambia
Lesotho 1991
Sierra Leone 1992
Algeria
Sudan
Burundi 1993
Nigeria
The Gambia 1994
Liberia
Lesotho
Comoros 1995
São Tomé and Príncipe
Sierra Leone 1996
Guinea
Burundi
Niger
Zambia 1997

1997 (Civil War)

Sierra Leone
Lesotho 1998

 

1998 (Civil War)

 

1998 (Attempted coup, which led to civil war)

Republic of the Congo
Guinea-Bissau
Niger 1999
Côte d’Ivoire
Burundi 2001

 

Central African Republic
Central African Republic 2003
Mauritania
Guinea-Bissau
São Tomé and Príncipe
Burkina Faso
Chad 2004
Sudan
Equatorial Guinea
Mauritania 2005
Chad 2006
Madagascar
Zimbabwe 2007
Guinea 2008
Mauritania
Madagascar 2009
Madagascar 2010
Niger
Guinea-Bissau
The Democratic Republic of the Congo 2011
Niger
Cote d’Ivoire 2012
Mali
Guinea-Bissau
Sudan
Benin Republic 2013
Libya
Comoros
Chad
Egypt
Libya
Central African Republic
South Sudan
Libya
Lesotho
The Gambia
Burundi 2015
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso 2016
Libya
The Gambia
Equatorial Guinea 2017
Zimbabwe
Gabon 2019
Sudan
Ethiopia
Libya
Mali 2020
Central African Republic 2021
Niger
Mali
Guinea
Sudan
Burkina Faso 2022
Guinea-Bissau

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African countries with the most military coups

COUNTRIES NUMBER OF COUPS
Sudan 17
Burundi 11
Sierra Leone 10
Ghana 10
Burkina Faso 9
Guinea-Bissau 9
Comoros 9
Benin Republic 8
Mali 8
Nigeria 8
Chad 7
Niger 7

Source: BBC

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Gabriel is a trained political scientist, and a qualified and versatile communications professional who has worked as a journalist and Public Relations executive. He has a knack for content creation and development and is a keen digital native interested in all things good.
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