Events in Nigerian History
- 1861-08-06 The British annex Lagos, Nigeria
- 1885-02-26 Berlin Conference gives Congo to Belgium and Nigeria to Great Britain
- 1900-01-01 British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria are established
- 1903-03-13 Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria, the British claim supremacy on over 500,000 square miles
- 1914-01-01 Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria
- 1948-01-18 1st courses begin at University of Ibadan, Nigeria
- 1954-10-01 British colony of Nigeria becomes a federation
Things Fall Apart
1958-06-17 "Things Fall Apart" by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe published by Heinemann - considered most widely read book in African literature
- 1960-05-09 Nigeria becomes a member of British Commonwealth
- 1960-10-01 Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom (National Day) and becomes the 99th member of the United Nations
- 1963-10-01 Nigeria enacts a new constitution and becomes a republic
- 1966-01-15 The First Nigerian Republic is overthrown in a military coup d'etat by Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna, the Prime Minister of Nigeria and other senior political and military figures are killed
- 1966-01-16 Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi seizes power in the chaos caused by a military coup and becomes the Nigerian Head of State
- 1966-07-16 Nigeria becomes the first Anglophone independent state in Africa to become an associate member of European Economic Community
- 1966-07-29 In Nigerian counter-coup, Head of State General Aguiyi Ironsi is assassinated by a group of Northern Nigerian officers and soldiers
Coup d'état
1966-08-01 Yakubu Gowon becomes Nigerian Head of State after a military coup d'état
The Awakening
1966-10-05 Nigerian government presents a copy of Ben Enwonwu's sculpture "The Awakening" to the United Nations
- 1967-05-30 Republic of Biafra, a predominantly Igbo secessionist state in eastern Nigeria, is founded by Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu
- 1967-07-06 Nigerian Civil War erupts as Nigerian forces invade the secessionist state of Biafra
- 1967-08-09 Biafran offensive against Nigerian army
- 1967-09-20 Benin separates from Nigeria
- 1968-09-04 Nigerian troops conquer the city of Aba, Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War
- 1968-09-19 Nigerian federal army begins the "final offensive" against the secessionist state of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War
- 1970-01-13 Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu flees Biafra into exile, leaving his deputy Philip Effiong to surrender to the Nigerian army, unofficially ending the Nigerian Civil War
- 1970-01-15 Nigerian civil war officially ends after 2 1/2 years of fighting when the Republic of Biafra disbands and joins Nigeria
- 1973-01-23 Boeing 707, operated by Alia Royal Jordanian and chartered by Nigeria Airways crashes while trying to land at Kano International Airport in Nigeria, killing 176 Muslim pilgrims and crew
- 1973-06-11 Libya nationalizes Bunker Hunt concession; Nigeria acquires 35 percent participation in Shell-BP concession
- 1974-05-18 Nigeria announces 55 percent government participation in all oil concessions
- 1975-07-30 Murtala Mohammed overthrows General Gowon to become Nigerian Head of State
- 1976-02-13 Major-General Olusegun Obasanjo becomes military ruler of Nigeria
- 1977-01-15 Festac '77, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, begins in Lagos, Nigeria
- 1977-02-12 Festac '77, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, finishes in Lagos, Nigeria
- 1979-02-09 Nigeria amends constitution
- 1979-10-01 Nigeria adopts constitution, Alhaji Shagari becomes president
- 1979-10-01 Shehu Shagari becomes first and only President of Nigeria's Second Republic
- 1983-01-17 Nigeria expels 2 million illegal aliens, mostly Ghanaians
- 1983-12-31 Nigeria's National Assembly dissolves after military coup
Nigeria's Shagari Overthrown
1983-12-31 President Shagari of Nigeria is overthrown in a military coup and Major General Muhammadu Buhari is installed as Head of State
- 1984-01-02 Major-General Muhammadu Buhari is declared Head of State in Nigeria, following a military coup
- 1984-03-20 Nigerian Major-General Babatunde Idiagbon launches a campaign on ‘National Consciousness and Enlightenment’
- 1984-08-27 War Against Indiscipline is launched by the Buhari regime in Nigeria
Music History
1984-09-04 Nigerian singer Fela Kuti sentenced to 2 years on politically motivated charges of currency smuggling [1]
- 1985-08-27 General Ibrahim Babangida overthrows Major General Muhammadu Buhari's regime in Nigeria
Event of Interest
1986-06-27 Ibrahim Babangida's regime in Nigeria launches the 'Structural Adjustment Program" to restructure the Nigerian economy via deregulation and privatization with the support of the IMF and the World Bank
Nobel Prize in Literature
1986-10-16 Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright and poet, becomes the first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature
- 1987-09-23 Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida creates two states: Akwa Ibom and Katisna
- 1988-02-18 Federal Road Safety Corps is established in Nigeria
- 1991-03-25 Nigerian crude becomes competitive in US Gulf Coast as Nigeria cuts crude prices
- 1991-07-11 Nigeria Airways DC-8 crashes at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 passengers and crew on board
- 1991-08-27 Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida creates nine states: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba, and Yobe
- 1991-12-12 Abuja replaces Lagos as the capital city of Nigeria
- 1992-08-09 Cuban boxer Félix Savón wins the first of 3 consecutive Olympic heavyweight gold medals when he dominates Nigerian David Izonritei on points at the Barcelona Games
- 1992-09-26 Nigerian Air Force Hercules C-130 crashes three minutes after take-off from Lagos, Nigeria, killing 163
- 1992-10-20 Mr Johnson surrenders Monrovia, Liberia & is exiled to Nigeria
- 1993-01-21 Nigerian singer Fela Kuti arrested on suspicion of murder
- 1993-03-08 Nigerian singer Fela Kuti arrested again on suspicion of murder
- 1993-06-23 Nigeria's military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, annuls results of presidential elections and halts a return to democracy
- 1993-08-14 Nigerian presidential election
- 1993-08-26 Ernest Shonekan is appointed interim president of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Babangida
- 1993-10-25 Airbus A310 of Air Nigeria hijacked, 1 dead
Nigerian Military Coup
1993-11-17 General Sani Abacha leads a military coup against Ernest Shonekan's transitional administration and returns the Nigerian government to military control
- 1994-06-11 Moshood Abiola becomes President of Nigeria
- 1994-06-12 Moshood Abiola declares himself lawful President of Nigeria
- 1994-06-23 Moshood Abiola is accused of treason and arrested after declaring himself president of Nigeria
- 1995-11-10 In Nigeria, playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa along with eight others from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) are hanged by government forces
- 1997-04-01 Shell Oil confirms it will declare force majeure at its Nigerian Bonny terminal due to local protests which disrupted 210 million barrels per day of the company's oil production
- 1998-06-09 Abdulsalami Abubakar succeeds Sani Abacha as military President of Nigeria
- 1999-02-27 Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Nigeria's first elected president since mid-1983
- 1999-05-29 Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule
- 2000-07-10 A leaking southern Nigerian petroleum pipeline explodes, killing about 250 villagers scavenging gasoline
- 2002-11-22 In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest
- 2004-05-02 Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria
- 2008-08-22 Russia wins the women's 4 × 100 m relay ahead of Belgium & Nigeria at the Beijing Olympics; disqualified in 2016 when reanalysis of Yulia Chermoshanskaya’s samples result in positive test for prohibited substances
- 2008-08-23 Midfielder Ángel Di María scores a 58th minute winner as Argentina beats Nigeria 1-0 to take the men's football gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; 89,102 at the National Stadium
- 2012-01-28 Death toll from coordinated bombing attacks in Kano, Nigeria, reaches 185
- 2012-06-03 Plane crash in Lagos, Nigeria, kills all 152 passengers and 40 people on the ground
- 2012-06-03 Suicide car bombing kills 15 and inures 42 people in Bauchi, Nigeria
- 2012-06-11 23 people are killed after two villages are attacked in northern Nigeria
- 2012-07-12 90-155 people are killed after an oil tanker crashes and explodes in Okogbe, Rivers State, Nigeria
- 2012-08-07 21 people are killed by a gun attack in a church in Okene, Nigeria
- 2012-09-28 Nigeria suspends flights to Saudi Arabia after hundreds of Nigerian women travelled without a male escort
- 2012-10-02 20 students are gunned down in Mubi, Nigeria
- 2012-10-08 35 people are killed by a Nigerian military bomb struck a convoy in Maiduguri
- 2012-10-14 20 people are gunned down in a mosque in Dogo Dawa, Nigeria
- 2012-10-16 Conflict in Maiduguri, Nigeria, leads to 24 militant deaths and several structures set ablaze
- 2012-11-05 Widespread flooding in Nigeria kills 363 people and displaces 2.1 million
- 2012-11-25 11 people are killed and 30 are wounded by twin car bombs hitting a Protestant church in Nigeria
- 2013-01-01 13 Boko Harem members are killed by Nigeria’s military in Maiduguri
- 2013-01-23 18 people are killed in a market shooting in Damboa, Nigeria
- 2013-02-01 The Nigerian Army bombs a Boko Haram camp, killing 18 people
- 2013-02-10 Nigeria defeat Burkina Faso 1-0 to win the football 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
- 2013-03-18 Explosions kill 25 people at a bus park in Kano, Nigeria
- 2013-03-21 At least 45 people drown and 60 are missing after a Nigerian boat sinks off the shore of Gabon
- 2013-03-24 25 people are killed by gunmen in a coordinated attack in Adamawa State, Nigeria
- 2013-03-31 14 Boko Haram suspects are killed in a Nigerian Army raid
- 2013-04-05 60 people are killed in Nigeria after a bus collides with an oil tanker
- 2013-04-06 11 people are killed in an attack on a village in Midlu, Nigeria
- 2013-04-21 185 people are killed in a conflict between Islamic extremists and the Nigerian military
- 2013-05-04 39 people are killed at a funeral in Wukari, Nigeria
- 2013-05-05 10 people are killed in a church attack in Njilan, Nigeria
- 2013-05-07 55 people are killed by a Boko Haram attack in Nigeria
- 2013-06-19 48 people are killed by armed bandits in Zamfara State, Nigeria
- 2013-07-06 42 people are killed in an attack on a boarding school in Mamudo, Nigeria
- 2013-07-30 28 people are killed in a series of bombings in Kano, Nigeria
- 2013-08-12 30 people are killed by gunmen in northeast Nigeria
- 2013-08-17 18 people are killed in conflict between Boko Harem and Nigerian military
- 2013-09-06 20 people are killed by Islamist militants in villages in northeast Nigeria
- 2013-09-09 18 people are killed in conflict between government and Boko Harem troops in Borno State, Nigeria
- 2013-09-28 27 villagers are killed by Boko Harem in northeast Nigeria
- 2013-09-29 42 people are killed by Boko Harem in a college attack in Gujba, Nigeria
- 2013-10-03 13 people are killed after a passenger plane crashes in Lagos, Nigeria
- 2013-10-22 37 Boko Harem Islamist militants are killed by air and ground strikes in Nigeria
- 2013-10-25 74 Boko Harem members killed in a coordinated assault in Borno State, Nigeria
- 2013-11-05 4 people are killed after a 4-story building under construction collapses in Lagos, Nigeria
- 2014-02-25 50 students are killed in a Boko Harem attack on a college in Buni, Nigeria
- 2014-05-01 Hundreds march through Nigerian capital calling for the release of schoolgirls abducted by Islamic militants, Boko Haram, who oppose Western education
- 2014-05-06 Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, releases a 57 minute video boasting about abducting schoolgirls in Nigeria
- 2014-06-04 10 Nigerian generals and five other senior military officers are court-martialed for providing arms and information to jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram
- 2014-07-20 Patrick Sawyer arrives in city of Lagos in Nigeria and collapses; he dies of Ebola five days later
- 2014-08-22 2nd Ebola death in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country
- 2014-09-05 World Health Organization estimates 1,900 people have died from the Ebola virus out of 3,500 infected in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone
- 2014-09-13 40 people are killed after T. B. Joshua's The Synagogue Church of All Nations collapses in Nigeria
- 2015-01-03 Over 2,000 people are killed in north-east Nigeria after Boko Haram militants raze the town of Baga
- 2015-03-07 54 people are killed & 143 are wounded by 5 Boko Haram suicide bombings in Maiduguri city, Nigeria
- 2015-03-29 Nigerian General Election - voting is extended to a 2nd day. death toll from Boko Haram attacks at 43
- 2015-05-29 Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in as the President of Nigeria
- 2015-06-18 18 vigilantes are killed & 53 are injured after an accidental detonation of an explosive device in Monguno, Nigeria
- 2015-11-17 Suicide bomber kills more than 30 in a market in Yola, north-eastern Nigeria, with Boko Haram blamed
- 2015-11-18 2 female suicide bombers aged 18 and 11 blow themselves up in Kano, Nigeria, killing 15 and injuring over 100
- 2016-01-30 Boko Haram militants on motorcycles attack Dalori village near Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing at least 65 and injuring 136
- 2016-05-24 Kaduna state in Nigeria declares a state of emergency due to 'Tomato Ebola', as moth destroys 80% of tomato crops
- 2017-01-17 Nigerian military mistakenly bomb refugee camp killing more than 70 in Rann, Borno state
- 2017-05-06 84 abducted schoolgirls released in exchange for Boko Haram suspects in Nigeria
- 2017-08-16 Three suicide bombers kill 27 people outside a refugee camp near Maiduguri in Borno state, Nigeria, Boko Haram suspected
- 2018-01-25 Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi asked "are there any bookshops in Nigeria?" in controversial French interview
- 2018-02-07 Missing Nigerian painting masterpiece of Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi by Ben Enwonwu announced rediscovered in London
- 2018-02-17 3 suicide bombers kill 18 in Konduga, north-east Nigeria
- 2018-02-19 Nigeria says 110 girls missing, presumed kidnapped by Boko Haram after attack on school in Dapchi, Yobe state
- 2018-03-21 Nigerian government confirms 101 out of 110 schoolgirls kidnapped from Dapchi returned
- 2018-06-16 Two suicide bombers attack Damboa in Borno state, Nigeria, killing at least 31 people
- 2018-06-23 Violent clashes over several days between ethnic Berom farmers and Fulani herders in Plateau state, Nigeria, kill 86
Event of Interest
2018-07-03 French President Emmanuel Macron visits the New Afrika Shrine nightclub in Lagos during his two-day tour of Nigeria
- 2018-10-21 Sectarian fighting between Muslim and Christian youths kill 55 at Kasuwan Magani, Nigeria
- 2018-12-02 Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari denies he has died and been replaced by a Sudanese impostor after ill health
Davido's 'Fall"
2019-02-06 Davido's "Fall" becomes longest-charting Nigerian pop song in US Billboard history
- 2019-02-23 Nigerian presidential election: President Muhammadu Buhari wins re-election defeating Atiku Abubakar, amid violence and a delay, on turnout of 35.6%
- 2019-06-16 Three suicide bomb attacks kill 30 people in Konduga, north east Nigeria
- 2019-07-07 Nigeria, Africa' biggest economy, joins the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in attempt to create world's largest free trade area
- 2019-07-27 At least 65 mourners killed in a gun attack at a funeral near Maiduguri, by suspected Boko Haram militants in north-east Nigeria
Polio
2019-08-21 Nigeria goes three years without a case of polio in landmark toward eradication of the disease
- 2019-09-09 Nigerian government says it will repatriate 600 people from South Africa after two people killed in wave of xenophobic violence in Johannesburg
Ben Enwonwu
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chinua Achebe
Davido
Fela Kuti
Giannis Antetokounmpo