The 1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt was a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

coup attempt which took place in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 13 February 1976 when a faction of

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

officers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka, attempted to overthrow the government of General

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammed (; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi a ...

(who himself took power in the 1975 coup d'état). Mohammedcar

Mohammed was assassinated in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, along with his aide-de-camp Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa, when his car was ambushed in

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class r ...

en route to the Dodan Barracks, by a group of soldiers led by Dimka. In a planned broadcast to the nation, Dimka had cited corruption, indecision, arrest and detention without trial, weakness on the part of Mohammed and maladministration in general as the reasons for overthrowing the government. The coup attempt was crushed several hours later by government troops. After a three-week manhunt, Dimka was arrested near

Abakaliki Abakaliki is the capital city of Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria, located southeast of Enugu. The inhabitants are primarily members of the Igbo nation. It was the headquarters of the Ogoja province before the creation of the Southeast ...

in southeastern Nigeria on 6 March 1976. Following a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

, Dimka and another 6 co-conspirators were

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...

on 15 May 1976. General Mohammed was succeeded by Lieutenant General

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

as head of state.

References

{{African coups d'État Military coups in Nigeria 1976 in Nigeria February 1976 in Africa 1970s coups d'état and coup attempts Conflicts in 1976 Attempted coups d'état in Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo