December 31, 1983: President Shehu Shagari’s government was overthrown in a military coup, bringing an end to Nigeria’s Second Republic.
- Katsina City News
- 03 Jan, 2025
- 203
The Nigerian military coup of 1983 took place on 31 December in 1983, few hours into the new year .. It was coordinated by key officers of the Nigerian military and led to the ousting of the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari and the installation of Major General Muhammadu Buhari as head of state..
Initially, the 1983 coup aimed to install Brigadier Ibrahim Bako as the head of state of Nigeria. However, during the gun battle in Lagos and Abuja aimed at ousting President Shagari, Bako was shot and killed, leading to Muhammadu Buhari assuming the presidency instead.
The central figures in this narrative include President Shehu Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Bako, and Ibrahim Babangida.
Ibrahim Ahmed Bako was a senior officer in the Nigerian Army who played a principal role in two Nigerian military coups: the July 1966 counter-coup and the December 1983 coup. The 1983 coup ousted the democratic government of Shehu Shagari..
On the last day of the year 1983, a coup was in operation to overthrow the democratically-elected government of President Shehu Shagari. The most interesting thing about the coup was that even though it was neatly orchestrated by middle-cadre and top brass in the military, Buhari was not initially the person to become the Head of State.
The person that was expected to become the new HOS after the coup was Brigadier Ibrahim Bako. Bako and his boys stormed the President’s residence to overthrow him. Shagari was woken up by his security team and alerted that Bako and his men were on their way to the State House to arrest him.
Quickly, President Shagari was evacuated to a safer location and the stage was set for one of the most dramatic gunfights in Nigeria’s political history.
To guard, protect and defend the Nigerian President then was the Brigade of Guards, headed by Captain Augustine A. Anyogo, an elite presidential bodyguard made up of some of the best-trained hands in the Armed Forces.
Source historylovers
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