‘You Cannot Hold 1966 Coup Against Me, I Was Barely 3 or 4’ — Peter Obi

NDC 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi has responded to concerns over lingering resentment in parts of Northern Nigeria over the killing of former Northern Region Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, during the 1966 military coup.

Obi was responding to a question suggesting that some people in the North had yet to forgive the Igbo for the assassination of Bello and other prominent northern figures during the January 15, 1966 coup.

The presidential candidate acknowledged that “things weren’t done properly” during the period but argued that events that occurred decades before his birth should not be used to judge him personally.

“Yes, things weren’t done properly. But you cannot hold what happened in the 1966 coup against me. I was barely three to four years old. I wasn’t involved,” Obi was quoted as saying.

He further noted that numerous events followed the 1966 coup and shaped Nigeria’s subsequent political and ethnic history.

Historical accounts show that Ahmadu Bello was assassinated on January 15, 1966, during Nigeria’s first military coup. Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and other senior political and military figures were also killed.

The coup has remained a sensitive subject in Nigeria’s political history, with its aftermath contributing to heightened ethnic tensions, including attacks against Igbo people in Northern Nigeria and the eventual outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War.

While the coup has sometimes been characterised as an “Igbo coup” because several of the principal officers were Igbo, historical accounts also note the involvement of officers from other ethnic groups, including Major Adewale Ademoyega, a Yoruba officer who was among the five majors associated with the coup.

Obi’s comments therefore place the 1966 events within his broader argument that Nigerians should not allow historical grievances to determine contemporary political relationships or the eligibility of individuals for public office.

The former governor has repeatedly presented national unity and the need to move beyond ethnic and regional divisions as important elements of his political message ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

His latest comments are likely to reignite debate over the legacy of the 1966 coup, the killing of Ahmadu Bello and whether historical events should continue to influence political perceptions more than six decades later.