1966 Nigerian coup d'état

On 15 January 1966, rebellious soldiers led by Kaduna Nzeogwu^[5] and 4 others carried out a military putsch, killing 22 people,^[6] including the prime minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, senior Army officers and their wives, and sentinels on protective duty.^[7][8] 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 overcome by loyalist forces.

1966 Nigerian coup d'etat
Date 15–16 January 1966 Location Nigeria Result Coup failed but government was still overthrown End of the First Nigerian Republic Assassination of 11 senior politicians Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi seizes power Coup conspirators arrested Beginning of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria (1966–1979) Beginning of the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom[1] 1966 Nigerian counter-coup six months later
Belligerents
Government of Nigeria	Rebel Army Officers
Commanders and leaders
Nnamdi Azikiwe[2] Nwafor Orizu[3] Abubakar Balewa X Ahmadu Bello X Samuel Akintola X Festus Okotie-Eboh X Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi	Kaduna Nzeogwu Adewale Ademoyega Emmanuel Ifeajuna [4]
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
22 dead	0

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 succession of military coups in Nigeria.

Background

In August 1965, a group of Army majors (Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Timothy Onwuatuegwu, Chris Anuforo, Don Okafor, Humphrey Chukwuka, and Adewale Ademoyega) began plotting a coup d'état against incumbent Prime Minister Abubakar Balewa.^[9]

Alleged Motivation

According to involved plotters, the coup was planned because the men at the helm of Nigeria's affairs were running the country aground with their corrupt ways. Ministers under them were living flamboyant lifestyles and looting public funds at the expense of ordinary citizens.^[10]

Furthermore, Captain Ben Gbulie and Colonel Emmanuel Nwobosi, who participated in the coup,^[11] later claimed that another reason for the 15 Jan coup was to counter a "Jihad" that was planned to happen by 17 January.

Acting President

The president of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe left the country in late 1965, first for Europe, then on a cruise to the Caribbean. Under the law, the Senate president, Nwafor Orizu, became acting president during his absence and assumed all the powers of the office.^[12]

Coup

Planning and preparation

The planning of the coup began with an inner circle of university-educated young officers who intended a national military revolution by seizing power in the regional capitals of Kaduna (Northern Region) and Ibadan (Western Region), and later taking control of Lagos (Federal Territory). Nzeogwu was tasked with leading the revolution in the Northern Region starting with Operation Damisa on 15 January 1966 and, at later stages, Operation Kura, Operation Zaki and Operation Giwa which would have culminated in the murder of the northern establishment.^[13][14]

Nzeogwu began his preparation by organizing a two-day night exercise "Damisa" (Operation Tiger) to train soldiers in new fighting techniques. The exercise was approved by authorities of the 1st Brigade Headquarters apparently unaware of the real intentions of Nzeogwu, and the Brigade Major, Alphonso Keshi, had sent circulars to all units operating under the Brigade to contribute troops towards the success of the exercise. By the time Major Keshi realized "Operation Damisa" was actually a military conspiracy, it was too late to counter the operation.^[14]

Plot execution

In the early hours of 15 January 1966, Nzeogwu led a group of soldiers^[15] on a supposed military exercise, taking them to attack the official residence of the premier of the north, Sir Ahmadu Bello, in a bloody coup that saw the murder of the Premiers of Northern and Western Nigeria. The Prime Minister (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa), a federal minister (Festus Okotie-Eboh), and top army officers mostly from the Northern and Western regions of the nation were also murdered. From the existing government, the premier of the Eastern region (Michael Okpara), the President of the Nigerian federation (Nnamdi Azikiwe) and the Igbo Army Chief (Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi) were notable survivors. Nzeogwu's modus operandi in the North contributed in no small measure to the success of the coup in Northern Nigeria.

According to a Nigerian PoliceSpecial Branch Report, Nzeogwu executed at least four army and police security personnel including one of the men on his team (Sergeant Daramola Oyegoke). Nzeogwu also participated in the execution of Col. Raph Shodeinde, his superior officer at the Nigerian Military Training College^[16] After waiting for an early morning radio announcement from Major Adewale Ademoyega in Lagos which did not take place because of the failure of the coup in Lagos, Major Nzeogwu made a mid-afternoon announcement, declaring martial law in Northern Nigeria.

Coup failure

The plotters had planned to neutralize key government and military figures as well as seize the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan and Lagos which were major seats of military and government power. However, on the morning of 15 January 1966, at a meeting with some local journalists in Kaduna seeking to find out what was going on, it was brought to Major Nzeogwu's attention that the only information about the events then was what was being broadcast by the BBC.^[9] Nzeogwu was surprised because he had expected a radio broadcast of the rebels from Lagos. He is said to have "gone wild" when he learnt that Emmanuel Ifeajuna in Lagos had not made any plans whatsoever to neutralize Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi who was the Commander of the Army. Therefore, Nzeogwu hurriedly drafted a speech which was broadcast on Radio Kaduna sometime around 12 a.m. and in which he declared martial law over the Northern Provinces of Nigeria.^[17][18]

Power Transfer

Acting President Nwafor Orizu made a nationwide broadcast, after he had briefed President Nnamdi Azikiwe on the phone about the decision of the cabinet, announcing the cabinet's "voluntary" decision to transfer power to the armed forces.^{[citation needed]} Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who was General Officer Commanding (GOC) ofthe Nigerian Army, and the senior most officer, then made his own broadcast, accepting the "invitation" to lead the nation.

On 17 January, Major General Ironsi established the Supreme Military Council in Lagos and effectively suspended the constitution.^[3]

Reactions

Initially, the majority of the people across the country were indifferent about the coup, but as more information came forth, different reactions begin to build up.

Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was accused of being part of the conspiracy while others viewed him as haven been compelled to take control of the government of a country in upheaval. Either way, government overthrow put Nigeria's nascent democracy on hold for a long stretch of time.^[19]

General Aguiyi-Ironsi's ascendancy to power was deemed to inadvertently be part of the conspiracy of the coup plotters, who were predominantly Igbo Majors to pave the way for an Igbo head of state. Furthermore, Aguiyi-Ironsi had been "invited" to assume power by Nwafor Orizu, the acting president, who was also from the Igbo ethnic group.

The coup was later tagged an "Igbo coup" by other ethnic groups in the country based on the following:

1. The killing patterns – only Arthur Unegbe of the 22 casualties is of Igbo origin, while notable Igbo politicians like the Premier of Eastern region, the senate president Nwafor Orizu(which was convicted for corruption years before) and high ranking military personnel like Aguiyi Ironsi were unharmed.^[20]
2. The handing over of the government to Ironsi by Nwafor Orizu (the acting president and the senate president who could have called for the formation of another civilian government) made it look like it was planned out all along.^[21]
3. The unification decree of May 1966 promulgated by Ironsi, leading to the abolition of regional power and the unification of the regional civil service into a federal civil service ^[22] – Historically speaking, the West and North have always believed in the regional system of government as the best form of government for a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria, however this was taken away by Ironsi, leading to a massive outrage and pogrom in the North in May 1966.
   This happened a few months before the counter coup by Northern soldiers, which lead to the death of Ironsi, Fajuyi and many officers of Igbo origin.
4. The coup plotters, though kept in jail, were never court-martialled and punished according to military procedure. On other occasions unsuccessful bloody coups meant death of the coup plotters, we can see the example in the coup attempts under Obasanjo(where Dimka and other mutineers were killed by firing squad) and Babangida( where he had to kill Mamman Vatsa, his old time friend)

Other participants of the coup including Major Ademoyega, a Yoruba man, Captain Ben Gbulie,^[23] Colonel Nwobosi,^[24] and others later came out to refute the idea that it was an "Igbo coup" through book publications and interviews.^{[citation needed]}

Aftermath

See also: 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom, 1966 Nigerian counter-coup, and Biafra war

Retaliatory coup by Northern soldiers of the Nigerian Army that led to deaths of many Igbo soldiers and civilians put the nation on a path that eventually led to a civil war.^[25]

Casualties

Regarding the casualties, the coup conspirators claimed their purge post-coup targeted members or supporters of the anterior regime and had been targeted for purely political reasons instead of being a racial purge focused on certain ethnic groups or clans; furthermore, they also claimed the list of people targeted was small and composed of only 8 people, half of them foreigners who were to be arrested not killed, and that the casualties had occurred as collateral damage of the coup. These claims were clarified by a member of the trio that formed the coup, Adewale Ademoyega, who published them in Nigeria in 1981 in a book titled Why We Struck outlining their reasons and motivations^[26] in which he mentioned:

There was no decision at our meeting to single out any ethnic group for elimination. Our intentions were honourable, our views were national and our goals were idealistic. Even those earmarked for arrest, four were northerners, two were Westerners and two were Easterners.

Below is a comprehensive list of casualties from the coup.^[6]

Civilians

• Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
• Premier Ahmadu Bello
• Premier Samuel Ladoke Akintola
• Finance Minister Festus Okotie-Eboh
• Ahmed Ben Musa (Bello's Senior Assistant secretary for Security)^[27]
• Hafsatu Bello(wife of Ahmadu Bello)
• Latifat Ademulegun, wife of General Ademulegun.
• Zarumi Sardauna
• Ahmed Pategi (Bello's driver)^[27]

Military and police

• Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun
• Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari
• Colonel Ralph Shodeinde^[28]
• Colonel Kur Mohammed^[29]
• Lt. Colonel Abogo Largema^[29]
• Lt. Colonel James Pam^[29]
• Lt. Colonel Arthur Unegbe
• Sergeant Daramola Oyegoke (Refused Nzeogwu's order in the attack on the Sardauna's lodge and according to the police report was murdered by Nzeogwu.)^[7][8]
• PC Yohana Garkawa
• Lance-corporal Musa Nimzo
• PC Akpan Anduka
• PC Hagai Lai
• Philip Lewande