January · This Day in Africa
January 15
1966 — Nigeria's First Military Coup
On January 15, 1966, young army majors led by Kaduna Nzeogwu stormed Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos in Nigeria's first military coup. They killed 22 people, including Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and Northern Premier Ahmadu Bello. The majors never held power; instead, army chief Aguiyi-Ironsi seized it, and the elected First Republic died that day.
Because most victims were northerners and most plotters Igbo, the coup was branded an "Igbo coup." That label ignited a fury with terrible reach, feeding the counter-coup, the pogroms, and finally the Biafran civil war. One January morning had set Nigeria on a road of fire.
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