Nigeria: Timeline

Nigerian History Timeline

1 October 1960
Nigeria got independence from British rule on 1 October 1960.

1 October 1963
Nigeria proclaimed itself the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

15 January 1966
Few junior army officers overthrew the government and assassinated the prime minister.

30 May 1967
Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu declared the independence of the eastern region of Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra.

29 July 1975
General Murtala Mohammed along with a group of officers staged a bloodless coup and replaced thousands of civil servants.

13 February 1976
General Murtala Mohammed was assassinated.

1 October 1979
Alhaji Shehu Shagari became president of Nigeria.

31 December 1983
Military overthrew the government and Major General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the leader of the Supreme Military Council.

27 August 1985
General Ibrahim Babangida overthrew Muhammadu Buhari in a coup, and became president of Nigeria.

29 May 2015
Muhammadu Buhari became 15th President of Nigeria.