Discover history’s darkest secrets, forgotten events, strange traditions, shocking stories and hidden facts from ancient civilizations to the modern world.
Nigeria’s first military coup on January 15, 1966, did not end with the overthrow of the civilian government. Instead, it opened a chain of events that would push the country toward military rule, ethnic violence and, eventually, the Nigerian Civil War. Among the darkest episodes was the killing of dozens of military officers during the…
In the turbulent years after Nigeria gained independence, few young men challenged the Nigerian state as boldly as Isaac Adaka Boro. In February 1966, Boro, an Ijaw nationalist from the Niger Delta, declared the region an independent republic and launched an armed rebellion against the Federal Government. His revolt lasted only twelve days, but it…
On 10 November 1995, Nigeria carried out one of the most controversial executions in its modern history. Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa, writer, businessman and environmental activist, was hanged alongside eight other Ogoni men after a military tribunal found them guilty of involvement in the murder of four Ogoni leaders. The executions immediately provoked international condemnation. Human-rights…
On the morning of February 13, 1976, Nigeria was plunged into one of the darkest moments in its political history. General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, the country’s Head of State, was travelling to his office in Lagos when his official Mercedes-Benz was ambushed by armed soldiers. Within minutes, Nigeria’s leader was dead. The attack was part…
For decades, behind the walls of institutions scattered across Ireland, thousands of women gave birth under circumstances shaped by shame, secrecy and social rejection. Many were unmarried mothers who had become pregnant in a society where having a child outside marriage could bring disgrace upon an entire family. Their children were born into a system…