The military dictatorship in Nigeria was a period when members of the Nigerian Armed Forces held power in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999 with an

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

from 1979 to 1983. The military was able to rise to power often with the tacit support of the elite through coup d'états. Since the country became a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

in 1963, there has been a series of military coups in Nigeria.

Background

The

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

in Nigeria began with the ''coup d'état of 1966'' which was planned and executed by a group of revolutionary Nigerian nationalist officers started as a small rebellion military cell under Emmanuel Ifeajuna. Major

Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu Patrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu (26 February 1937 – 29 July 1967) was a Nigerian military officer and revolutionary who played a leading role in the first military coup d'ètat of 15 January 1966, which overthrew the first Nigerian republ ...

was the face of the coup attempt, which involved five other army majors: Timothy Onwuatuegwu,

Chris Anuforo Christian Anuforo (1938 – August 1966) was a Nigerian Army major and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria. Education Anuforo at ...

Don Okafor Major Donatus Okafor (died July 1966) was a Nigerian army officer, Commander of the Federal Guards Brigade, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military ...

, Adewale Ademoyega and Humphrey Chukwuka. It operated as a clandestine movement of junior officers during the post-independence period of 1960–1966. The plot received support from left-wing intellectuals, who rejected conservative elements in society, like the traditional establishment of Northern Nigeria and sought to overthrow the First Nigerian Republic.

Military regimes

File:General Yakubu Gowon, from ASC Leiden - Rietveld Collection - Nigeria 1970 - 1973 - 01 - 093 New Nigerian newspaper page 7 January 1970. End of the Nigerian civil war with Biafra (cropped).jpg, General Yakubu Gowon File:Muhammadu Buhari.jpg, Major General Muhammadu Buhari File:Ibrahim Babangida (cropped).jpg, General Ibrahim Babangida File:Abdulsalami Abubakar detail DF-SC-02-04323.jpg, General Abdulsalam Abubakar Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was made the Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, serving for six months before being overthrown and assassinated in the

1966 Nigerian counter-coup The 1966 Nigerian counter-coup, or the so-called "July Rematch", was the second of many military coups in Nigeria. It was masterminded by Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed and many northern military officers. The coup began as a mutiny at roughly midn ...

. Aguiyi-Ironsi was succeeded by General Yakubu Gowon, who established a Supreme Military Council. Gowon held power until July 1975, when he was overthrown in a bloodless coup. Brigadier (later General) Murtala Mohammed succeeded Gowon. Months later, in February 1976, Mohammed was assassinated by

Buka Suka Dimka Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suwa Dimka (1940 – 15 May 1976) was a Nigerian Army officer who played a leading role in the 13 February 1976 abortive military coup against the government of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed. Dimka also participated in t ...

and others in a violent coup attempt. The plotters failed to kill Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ, who then succeeded Mohammed as head of state. The Supreme Military Council was formally dissolved when Ọbasanjọ handed power to the elected Shehu Shagari, ending the military regime and establishing a Nigerian Second Republic. The Second Republic was overthrown in the 1983 Nigerian coup d'état and succeeded by Muhammadu Buhari, who was established a new Supreme Military Council of Nigeria as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Buhari ruled for two years, until the

1985 Nigerian coup d'état The 1985 Nigerian coup d'état was a military coup which took place in Nigeria on 27 August 1985 when a faction of mid-level Armed Forces officers, led by the Chief of Army Staff Major-General Ibrahim Babangida, overthrew the government of Ma ...

, when he was overthrown by General Ibrahim Babangida. General Ibrahim Babangida was promulgated as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and established the

Armed Forces Ruling Council Nigeria's Armed Forces Ruling Council was established by Ibrahim Babangida following the 1985 Nigerian coup d'état that overthrew Muhammadu Buhari. It replaced Buhari's Supreme Military Council, which had been in place since the 1983 Nigerian co ...

. His rule was the longest serving in peacetime and his administration typified the military dictatorships of the 20th century. Babangida promised a return of democracy when he seized power, but he ruled Nigeria for eight years, when he temporarily handed power to the interim head of state

Ernest Shonekan Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (9 May 1936 – 11 January 2022) was a Nigerian lawyer and statesman who served as the interim Head of State of Nigeria from 26 August 1993 to 17 November 1993. He was titled Abese of Egbaland from 1 ...

in 1993. In 1993, General Sani Abacha overthrew Interim National Government and appointed himself Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria.

Transition to democracy

After Abacha's death in 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over and ruled until Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ again became head of state (via the 1999 presidential election), ending the junta and establishing the Fourth Nigerian Republic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998 Military history of Nigeria Military dictatorships Cold War in Africa States and territories established in 1966 States and territories disestablished in 1979 States and territories established in 1983 States and territories disestablished in 1998

Background

Military regimes

Transition to democracy

See also

References