Military Era & Coups in Nigeria
Military regimes, coups, economic policies, and the transition to democratic governance in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999.
1966 Apapa Killings: 2 Planned Assassinations at the Heart of Nigeria’s First Military Coup
The 1966 Apapa Killings of Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe and Colonel Kur Mohammed formed part of the coordinated military rebellion that struck Nigeria on...
Usman Jibrin: The Air Force Pioneer Who Led Kaduna Through a Historic Transformation
Usman Jibrin was a pioneering Nigerian Air Force officer who became Military Governor of North-Central State during one of the most important political transitions...
Langtang Mafia: 5 Powerful Figures Who Shaped Nigeria’s Military Era
The Langtang Mafia became one of the most enduring political expressions associated with Nigeria’s era of military government. The term referred to an influential...
Iliya Bisalla and the 1976 Coup Trials: 50 Years After Nigeria’s Historic Military Reckoning
Iliya Bisalla and the 1976 coup trials occupy an important place in Nigeria’s political and military history. Major General Iliya D. Bisalla was serving...
The German Hands Behind Nigeria’s First Air Force
In the early years after independence, Nigeria faced the enormous task of building national institutions strong enough to defend a new republic. The country...
Obasanjo’s Quiet London Wedding in 1963
Long before Olusegun Obasanjo became one of the most recognisable figures in Nigerian political history, he was a young army officer whose life was...
The London Hemp Case That Embarrassed Gowon’s Military Government
In October 1973, a Nigerian woman named Iyabo Olorunkoya was arrested in London while attempting to bring seven cases of Indian hemp into the...
The Death of Francis Fajuyi and the Honour Nigeria Never Forgot
Few deaths in Nigeria’s military history carry the moral weight of Lt. Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi’s death. He was the first military governor of...
The $12.2bn Question: Newswatch, IBB and Nigeria’s $12.4bn Oil Windfall Controversy
In Nigeria’s military era, one magazine cover turned a complex financial controversy into a simple public demand. Newswatch placed General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at...
Yakubu Gowon: The Bible Story, the Army, and the Burden of Nigeria’s Survival
Yakubu Gowon’s life returned to national attention in May 2026 with the public presentation of his autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, in...