CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The 1966 Nigerian counter-coup, or the so-called “July Rematch", was the second of many military coups in Nigeria. It was masterminded by Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed and many northern military officers.

Detailed explanation-2: -The 1966 Nigerian coup d’état began on 15 January 1966, when mutinous Nigerian soldiers led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna killed 22 people including the Prime Minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, many senior Army officers (including their wives), and sentinels on protective duty.

Detailed explanation-3: -Since Nigerian independence in 1960, there have been five military coup d’états in Nigeria. Between 1966 and 1999, Nigeria was ruled by a military government without interruption, apart from a short-lived return to democracy under the Second Nigerian Republic of 1979 to 1983.

Detailed explanation-4: -Gowon’s rise to power following the July 1966 counter-coup cemented military rule in Nigeria. Consequently, Gowon is the longest-serving head of state of Nigeria, ruling for almost nine years until his overthrow in the coup d’état of 1975 by Brigadier Murtala Mohammed.

Detailed explanation-5: -Leaders of the established 1966 military coup, including army officers Colonel E.K. Kotoka, Major A. A. Afrifa, Lieutenant General (retired) J. A. Ankrah, and Police Inspector General J.W.K. Harlley, justified their takeover by charging that the CPP administration was abusive and corrupt.