Murtala Mohammed

General Murtala Ramat Mohammed became Nigeria's head of state in July 1975 after participating in the bloodless coup that ousted General Yakubu Gowon. The Kano-born officer immediately launched an ambitious reform agenda, ordering all public officials to declare their assets and establishing tribunals to investigate corruption in government ministries and parastatals. His administration also began a purge of the civil service, dismissing thousands of officials suspected of corrupt practices.

Mohammed's rise came amid growing frustration with the Gowon administration's handling of post-civil war reconstruction and widespread corruption in government circles. The oil boom of the early 1970s had brought unprecedented wealth to Nigeria, but much of it was being siphoned off through inflated contracts and kickbacks. Military officers and civilians alike had grown increasingly concerned about the erosion of public trust and the failure to translate oil revenues into meaningful development for ordinary Nigerians.