the fall of the first republic of nigeria due to major-general johnson aguiyi-ironsi taking control took place on january 16, 1966.
the fall of the first republic of nigeria due to major-general johnson aguiyi-ironsi taking control took place on january 16, 1966.
the fall of the first republic of nigeria due to major-general johnson aguiyi-ironsi taking control took place on?
january 16, 1966
when nigeria became an independent state in october 1960 the newly formed government consisted mainly of northern politician from the hausa-fulani ethnic group. early on the nigerian government became corrupt with various politicians swindling public funds and rigging votes. by 1965 the nigerian government became so corrupt that uprisings against the government sprang up all across nigeria with various politicians attempting to gain more power. this resulted in rioting and mass arrests in the cities of lagos and ibadan. the politician obafemi awolowo was falsely blamed for causing the riots and was sentenced to 10 years in a nigerian prison. all of the chaos that occurred in the political ralm gave was to the 1966 nigerian coup d'etat in which 11 senior politicians were killed by mainly igbo soldiers led by the army major emmanuel ifeajuna. the nigerian prime minister abubakar balewa was one of the 11 politicians assassinated during the coup of january 15. nzeogwu's soldiers were forced to retreat to kaduna after general johnson aguiyi-ironsi was able to assemble a force of soldiers in lagos to combat the rebellious soldiers. ironsi was made supreme commander of nigeria on january 16, 1966 and became the first igbo head of state in nigerian history. many northern generals and politicians were angry at ironsi for two reasons, because he did not execute major nzeogwu and because he was giving more and more political power to southern politicians. on july 29, 1966 ironsi was assassinated by mutinous soldiers which included william walbe after they wrestled command from theophilus danjuma and installed colonel yakubu gowon as head of state. the counter-coup resulted in the 1966 anti-igbo pogrom and caused the brutal massacre of 50,000 igbo civilians living in various northern cities such as kano and kaduna. these massacres angered many igbo civilians and a inadvertently led to easterns calling for secession. ojukwu met with president gowon in aburi, ghana in december 1966 to discuss the situation that was occurring in nigeria. an apparent vote was held by a consultative assembly appointed by ojukwu, and they approved of a secession of a secular igbo state. however, it must be said that from all indications the decision to secede had already been made around late 1966 by ojukwu and his closest confidants which included louis chude-sokei, christopher okigbo, and the very influential cc mojekwu. on may 30, 1967 ojukwu officially seceded the eastern region and proclaimed the new republic of biafra. ojukwu managed to assemble a 3,000 man guerrilla force to defend biafra's front lines. in early july 1967 nigerian president gowon ordered the nigerian army high command to regain control of the eastern region.
operation unicord
in january 1966, a group of army officers, led by major chukwuma nzeogwu, overthrew the central and regional governments of nigeria, killed the prime minister, and tried to take control of the government in a failed coup d'état. nzeogwu was countered, captured and imprisoned by major general johnson aguiyi-ironsi.









































aguiyi-ironsi was named military head of state on 17 january 1966, a position he held until 29 july 1966, when a group of northern army officers revolted against the government, and killed aguiyi-ironsi.









































section::::fall of the first republic.
johnson aguiyi-ironsi