Nigeria History Coup d'état, 1966 (January 15)
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- Encyc. Am.:vol. 20, p. 340 ("on Jan. 19, 1966, young army officers, believing that the solution to Nigeria's problems was the overthrow of the government, struck violently. Prime minister Balewa, Akintola, the sardauna of Sokoto, and many of their adherents were killed...President Azikiwe was out of the country. Senior officers led by Maj. Gen. J. T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi quickly gained control of the coup and Ironsi was declared head of a military government.")
Wikipedia description:
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.
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