Samuel Akintola assassinated in Ibadan

On January 15, 1966, Premier Samuel Ladoke Akintola of Western Nigeria was killed at his official residence in Ibadan during Nigeria's first military coup. Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and his fellow conspirators targeted Akintola alongside other political leaders including Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Northern Premier Ahmadu Bello. The coup plotters accused these leaders of corruption and sought to overthrow what they saw as a failed civilian government.

Akintola had become a controversial figure in Western Nigerian politics following his split with Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Action Group crisis of 1962. His alliance with the Northern People's Congress and support for the federal government made him unpopular among many Yoruba voters who saw him as betraying regional interests. The disputed 1965 Western Region election, which returned Akintola to power amid widespread allegations of rigging, had plunged the region into violent chaos known as 'Operation Wetie.'