In January 1966, a group of young Nigerian army officers, led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, carried out Nigeria’s first coup, killing top politicians and army officers. Top of the list of those killed was Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region.
The coup that saw General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi become president and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces also took the life of Samuel Akintola, the Premier of the Western Region.
After taking power, Ironsi promised to stabilize Nigeria and unite the country, but his Decree No. 34, which abolished federalism, was seen in the North as a move to entrench Igbo dominance, which caused ethnic distrust and political instability.
The July 29, 1666 counter-coup
Fast forward six months later, the angry North retaliated. Lt. Colonel Muritala Mohammed and Major Theophilus Danjuma launched a counter-coup, which targeted Ironsi and other high-ranking Igbo officers.
General Aguiyi-Ironsi and Lt. Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi (the Western governor who hosted him in Ibadan) were captured and gruesomely murdered.
The rulership of Nigeria was then transferred to Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon, a Northern Christian from Plateau State, Nigeria. Although Gowon didn’t take part in the coup, he was favourably considered by the North and the army high command. He was just 31 when he assumed office.
Secession
Invariably, the counter-coup deepened ethnic mistrust and tension. What followed was a mass killing of Igbos in the northern part of Nigeria, which then triggered their return to the East in droves.
By 1967, the situation escalated to the point where the Eastern Region declared its secession from Nigeria. This set the tone for a civil war that lasted 2 years, 6 months (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970)
In the final analysis, the events of July 29, 1966 wasn’t just a counter-coup — it was the moment Nigeria’s fragile unity cracked. The consequences echo till today.