Military Era & Coups in Nigeria
Military regimes, coups, economic policies, and the transition to democratic governance in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999.
Theophilus Danjuma in 1966: The Untold Story of Nigeria’s Coup Crisis
Theophilus Danjuma in 1966 was a serving Nigerian Army officer whose career intersected with one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s political...
Murtala Mohammed: The Remarkable Story of a Nigerian War Commander
Murtala Mohammed and the 2nd Division are closely associated with Nigeria’s military operations during the Civil War, which lasted from July 1967 to January...
Aguiyi-Ironsi and Fajuyi: The Tragic July 1966 Counter-Coup
In July 1966, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military Head of State, was photographed walking alongside Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, the military governor...
Murtala Muhammed’s 1975 Appointments: The First Supreme Military Council
Murtala Muhammed’s 1975 appointments marked a significant change in Nigeria’s military leadership following the overthrow of General Yakubu Gowon on 29 July 1975. Brigadier...
Biafran Child Soldiers: The Powerful 1968 Photograph from Umuahia
The photograph of two young Biafran soldiers in Umuahia on 31 August 1968 captures a disturbing reality of the Nigerian Civil War. Identified in...
Yakubu Gowon in Exile: The 1975 London Photograph with His Children
Yakubu Gowon in exile marked a new chapter in the life of a military leader who had governed Nigeria for nearly nine years. On...
General Martin Luther Agwai: Nigeria’s Commander at the Birth of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur
General Martin Luther Agwai occupies an important place in the history of Nigerian and African participation in international peacekeeping. After senior service in the...
Florence Ajimobi and Adeyinka Adebayo: The Powerful 1967 Photograph Linking an Ibadan Schoolgirl to Nigerian History
Florence Ajimobi and Adeyinka Adebayo appear together in one of those historical photographs whose significance became clearer only with the passage of time. The...
William Walbe and the July 1966 Counter-Coup: Inside the Seizure of Ironsi and Fajuyi
William Walbe and the July 1966 Counter-Coup are inseparable from the story of one of the most dramatic reversals in Nigeria’s early military history....
Lt S. E. Idowu: From Army Promotion to the Tragedy of the July 1966 Counter-Coup
Lt S. E. Idowu, service number N/359, belonged to a generation of Nigerian Army officers whose careers unfolded during the turbulent first years after...