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.
HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to
2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map
carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each
one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what
you find.