History · Military Era
Military Coups in Nigeria (1966 to Date)
Nigeria has experienced 6 successful military coups — in January 1966, July 1966, 1975, 1983, 1985 and the 1993 palace coup — plus 2 major failed attempts (1976 and 1990), 3 alleged plots and the foiled 2025–26 plot. The military ruled for about 29 of the 39 years between 1966 and 1999, and no coup has succeeded since the return to civilian rule on 29 May 1999. Every takeover, attempt and plot is listed below in order, with dates, leaders and outcomes.
✓ Verified · updated August 30, 2026
6Successful coups
3Failed / foiled attempts
~29Years of military rule
1993Last successful coup
All coups and coup attempts, in order
The First Military Coup (Majors’ Coup)
15 January 1966Successful coup
Led byMajor Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and other young majors
OverthrownPrime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (First Republic)
OutcomeMajor-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
Notable deathsPrime Minister Tafawa Balewa; Premier of the Northern Region Sir Ahmadu Bello; Premier of the Western Region Samuel Akintola; Finance Minister Festus Okotie-Eboh; senior army officers
Nigeria’s first military coup ended the First Republic barely six years after independence. The plotters struck in Lagos, Kaduna and Ibadan, killing the Prime Minister, two regional premiers and several senior officers. The coup itself failed in Lagos, but with the civilian government decapitated, power passed to the most senior soldier, Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi, who became Nigeria’s first military Head of State.
Read the timeline entry → · Abubakar Tafawa Balewa · Aguiyi Ironsi
The Counter-Coup (“July Rematch”)
29 July 1966Successful coup
Led byNorthern officers including Lt-Col Murtala Muhammed; Major T.Y. Danjuma
OverthrownMajor-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
OutcomeLt-Col (later General) Yakubu Gowon
Notable deathsHead of State Aguiyi-Ironsi and his host, Lt-Col Adekunle Fajuyi (Military Governor of the Western Region), killed near Ibadan; more than 150 officers and men, mostly Igbo — often called Africa’s bloodiest coup
Northern officers struck back six months after the January coup, partly in reaction to its lopsided casualties and to Ironsi’s Unification Decree No. 34. Ironsi was abducted and killed near Ibadan alongside Lt-Col Fajuyi. The 31-year-old Lt-Col Yakubu Gowon emerged as Head of State; the crisis that followed led directly to the Civil War of 1967–1970.
Read the timeline entry → · Aguiyi Ironsi · Yakubu Gowon
The 1975 Coup (Gowon Overthrown)
29 July 1975Successful coup
Led byOfficers acting for Brigadier (later General) Murtala Muhammed
OverthrownGeneral Yakubu Gowon (away at an OAU summit in Kampala)
OutcomeGeneral Murtala Muhammed
Notable deathsBloodless
Exactly nine years after taking power, Gowon was removed in a bloodless coup while attending the OAU summit in Uganda. The plotters accused his government of indiscipline and of reneging on a promised 1976 return to civilian rule. Murtala Muhammed took over and launched sweeping reforms, including the creation of new states and the decision to move the federal capital to Abuja.
Read the timeline entry → · Yakubu Gowon · Murtala Muhammed
The Dimka Coup Attempt
13 February 1976Failed attempt
Led byLt-Col Buka Suka Dimka
TargetTargeted General Murtala Muhammed
OutcomeRegime survived; General Olusegun Obasanjo succeeded Murtala
Notable deathsHead of State Murtala Muhammed and his aide-de-camp Lt Akintunde Akinsehinwa, shot in his car en route to Dodan Barracks; Governor Ibrahim Taiwo of Kwara State. More than 30 convicted plotters were executed by firing squad (March–May 1976); Dimka himself, captured on 6 March after a three-week manhunt, was executed on 15 May 1976
Dimka’s attempt failed within hours, but not before Murtala Muhammed was shot dead on his way to work — he remains the only serving Nigerian Head of State assassinated in office. His deputy, Olusegun Obasanjo, took over and completed the transition programme, handing power to civilians in 1979.
Read the timeline entry → · Murtala Muhammed · Olusegun Obasanjo
The 1983 Coup (End of the Second Republic)
31 December 1983Successful coup
Led bySenior officers; Major-General Muhammadu Buhari announced as Head of State
OverthrownPresident Shehu Shagari (Second Republic)
OutcomeMajor-General Muhammadu Buhari
Notable deathsBrigadier Ibrahim Bako killed during the operation
On New Year’s Eve 1983, the military returned barely four years into the Second Republic, citing electoral fraud, corruption and a collapsing economy. President Shagari was detained and Major-General Buhari became Head of State, launching the “War Against Indiscipline”.
Read the timeline entry → · Shehu Shagari · Muhammadu Buhari
The 1985 Coup (Babangida Takes Over)
27 August 1985Successful coup
Led byMajor-General Ibrahim Babangida and fellow senior officers
OverthrownMajor-General Muhammadu Buhari
OutcomeGeneral Ibrahim Babangida (first to adopt the title “President” as a military ruler)
Notable deathsBloodless
Army Chief of Staff Babangida removed Buhari in a bloodless palace-style takeover while much of the country marked Sallah, accusing the regime of rigidity and of sidelining fellow officers. Babangida’s eight-year rule ended in the annulled 12 June 1993 presidential election.
Read the timeline entry → · Muhammadu Buhari · Ibrahim Babangida
The Vatsa “Coup Plot”
December 1985Alleged plot
Led byMajor-General Mamman Vatsa (accused)
TargetAllegedly targeted General Ibrahim Babangida
OutcomeRegime unaffected
Notable deathsVatsa and nine other officers executed by firing squad on 5 March 1986
Babangida’s childhood friend and Minister of the FCT, Mamman Vatsa, was arrested with other officers over an alleged plot months after the 1985 takeover. A military tribunal convicted them largely on accomplice testimony; despite appeals from writers including Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and J.P. Clark, ten officers were executed. Whether a real plot existed is still debated.
Ibrahim Babangida
The Orkar Coup Attempt
22 April 1990Failed attempt
Led byMajor Gideon Orkar
TargetTargeted General Ibrahim Babangida
OutcomeRegime survived
Notable deathsFighting at Dodan Barracks killed several people, including Babangida’s ADC, Lt-Col U.K. Bello; 42 convicted plotters, including Orkar, were executed on 27 July 1990
The bloodiest failed coup in Nigerian history. Orkar’s broadcast went beyond removing Babangida — it announced the “excision” of five northern states from the federation, a first. Loyal troops led by then-Brigadier Sani Abacha crushed the revolt the same day; Babangida, who escaped Dodan Barracks by a back route, later moved the seat of government to Abuja.
Read the timeline entry → · Ibrahim Babangida
The 1993 Palace Coup (Abacha Ousts Shonekan)
17 November 1993Palace coup
Led byGeneral Sani Abacha
OverthrownChief Ernest Shonekan (Interim National Government)
OutcomeGeneral Sani Abacha
Notable deathsBloodless
Three months after Babangida “stepped aside”, Defence Minister Sani Abacha forced interim Head of State Ernest Shonekan to resign — a bloodless palace coup and Nigeria’s last successful military takeover. Abacha ruled until his death in June 1998; his successor Abdulsalami Abubakar handed over to civilians on 29 May 1999.
Read the timeline entry → · Ernest Shonekan · Sani Abacha
The 1995 “Phantom Coup”
March 1995Alleged plot
Led byAlleged plotters incl. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Maj-Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (accused)
TargetAllegedly targeted General Sani Abacha
OutcomeRegime unaffected
Notable deathsNone at the time; Shehu Yar’Adua later died in detention (1997)
The Abacha regime announced a foiled plot and secretly tried dozens of officers and civilians, including former Head of State Obasanjo (sentenced to prison) and his former deputy Shehu Yar’Adua (sentenced to death, commuted). Most observers consider the plot fabricated to silence critics. Obasanjo was freed after Abacha’s death and elected President in 1999.
Sani Abacha · Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
The Diya “Coup Plot”
December 1997Alleged plot
Led byLt-Gen. Oladipo Diya (accused, then Chief of General Staff)
TargetAllegedly targeted General Sani Abacha
OutcomeRegime unaffected
Notable deathsNone — death sentences commuted after Abacha died in June 1998
Abacha’s own deputy, Oladipo Diya, was arrested with other officers over an alleged plot and sentenced to death by a secret tribunal in April 1998. Abacha died weeks later; Abdulsalami Abubakar commuted the sentences and eventually freed the convicts, several of whom were pardoned in 1999.
Sani Abacha · Abdulsalami Abubakar
The 2025–26 Foiled Coup Plot
30 September 2025Foiled plot
Led by16 serving officers referred for court-martial; a Brigadier-General named in press reports as the alleged ringleader
OverthrownAllegedly targeted President Bola Tinubu’s government
OutcomePlot foiled at the planning stage; government unaffected
Notable deathsNone — uncovered before any move was made
Military intelligence uncovered a plot in September 2025; nationwide dawn raids on 30 September detained about 38 suspects — soldiers, one police officer and civilians. After months of official denial, Defence Headquarters confirmed on 26 January 2026 that officers had plotted to “illegally overthrow” the government, referring 16 officers to military judicial panels. On 21 April 2026, six people were formally charged with treason and terrorism. It is the first Nigerian coup plot to reach public confirmation and prosecution since the Abacha era.
Read the timeline entry → · Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Frequently Asked Questions
Who led the first military coup in Nigeria?
Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu is the name most associated with the first coup of 15 January 1966, alongside Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and other young majors. The coup toppled the First Republic and brought Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi to power as Nigeria’s first military Head of State.
How many military coups has Nigeria had?
Nigeria has had 6 successful military takeovers (January 1966, July 1966, July 1975, December 1983, August 1985 and the November 1993 palace coup) and 2 major failed attempts (February 1976 and April 1990), along with several alleged plots — notably 1985 (Vatsa), 1995 and 1997 — and the foiled 2025–26 plot against President Tinubu’s government.
Who was killed in the January 1966 coup?
Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Premier of the Northern Region Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of the Western Region Chief Samuel Akintola and Finance Minister Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh were the most prominent victims, along with several senior army officers.
Which Nigerian Head of State was assassinated in office?
General Murtala Muhammed — shot dead in Lagos traffic on 13 February 1976 during the failed Dimka coup. He is the only serving Nigerian Head of State assassinated in office. His portrait appears on the ₦20 note, and Lagos’s international airport is named after him.
When was the last military coup in Nigeria?
The last successful takeover was General Sani Abacha’s bloodless palace coup of 17 November 1993, which removed interim Head of State Ernest Shonekan. No coup has succeeded since Nigeria returned to civilian rule on 29 May 1999.
Which coup was the bloodiest failed attempt?
The Gideon Orkar attempt of 22 April 1990. Fighting at Dodan Barracks killed several people, and 42 convicted plotters, including Major Orkar, were executed on 27 July 1990 — the largest number executed for any single Nigerian coup attempt.