NOTABLE EVENTS IN .

1851 (December 26-27): Royal Navy warship bombards Lagos. Oba of Lagos (Oba Kosoko) is wounded and flees to Epe. On board the ship was Lt. Labulo Davies, probably the first Nigerian to be commisioned in a naval force.

1862 (January 1): Lagos Island is annexed as a colony of Britain

1862 (January 22): Mr. H.S Freeman is appointed as the first Governor of Lagos Colony.

1877: George Taubman Goldie arrived in the Niger Delta in 1877

1885: Oil Rivers Protectorate proclaimed by the British after they had defeated of King Jaja of Opobo, the Oba of Benin and subdued all prominent oil merchants of the Niger Delta.

1892 (19 May): At the Battle of the (sacred) Yemoja River the British wreaks havoc amongst the Ijebu infantry with a British Maxim (capable of firing 2000 rounds in three minutes).

1893: Oil Rivers Protectorate renamed Niger Coast Protectorate with its capital at Calabar.

1890's: British Journalist Flora Shaw, later wife of Lord Frederick Lugard, suggests the name "Nigeria" after the great Niger River.

1897: The British overthrow Oba Ovonramwen of Benin. One of the last independent West African kings.

1900: Niger Coast Protectorate was merged with the colony and protectorate of Lagos and renamed Protectorate of Southern Nigeria

1914: Formation of Nigeria under Governor Frederick Lugard

1929 (October): (Aba Women's Riot). Women in Aba demonstrate against high taxes and low prices of Nigerian exports.

1954: The position of Governor was created in each region after the Federal System of Government is adopted.

1958: Nigerian Armed Forces came under Federal control. The Nigerian Navy is created.

1959: The new Nigerian currency is introduced 1959: Northern Peoples Congress(NPC)and Niger Delta Congress(NDC) go into alliance to contest parliamentary elections. The alliance earned the Brass Division a seat in the Federal Parliament for the first time.

1960(July): Sir Adesoji Aderemi becomes 1st Nigerian and 1st African to be appointed Governor in the Commonwealth. He became Governor before Nigeria got independence.

1960 (October 1): Nigeria's Independence Day: Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") becomes 1st indigenous Governor General. At independence, the Nigerian government consisted of three ethnic states united in a federation. Each state was controlled by a single dominant ethnic-based party.

1960 (October 1): Independence. Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") becomes 1st indigenous Governor General.

1960-1966: First Republic of Nigeria under a British parliamentary system.

1960: Nigeria's joins with Liberia and Togo in the "Monrovia Group" which advocated an extremely loose organization of African states.

1961 (February 11 and 12): People of Northern and Southern Cameroon went to the polls to decide on joining independent Nigeria or the French territory of Cameroon. The south voted to leave Nigeria and the North decided to join Nigeria.

1961 (June 1): Northern Cameroon becomes Sarduana Province of Nigeria, the thirteenth province of Northern Nigeria.

1961 (October 1): Southern Cameroon ceases to be a part of Nigeria

1962: By this time, the northern Northern People's Congress (NPC) controlled the federal government, while violence in the western region forced the dominant party there, the Yoruba "Action Group" (AG), to split in two.

1963: Nigeria proclaimed Republic. Nnamdi Azikiwe becomes its first President.

1964: The Northern Peoples Congress(NPC) aligns with a breakaway faction of the Action Group (AG) led by Chief Ladoke Akintola, the Nigerian National Democratic Party(NNDP),to form the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) to contest elections. At the same time, the main Action Group led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo forms alliance with the United Middle-Belt Congress(UMBC)and Alhaji Aminu Kano's Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and Borno Youth Movement to form the UPGA (United Progressive Grand Alliance).

1965 (November): Elections triggered violence in the western region, where Igbo civil servants of the Hausa- dominated federal government represented authority to the Yoruba population. .

1966 (January 15): The Nigerian army staged its first coup. 1966 (May 29): Massive rioting starts in the major towns of Northern Nigeria against the Igbo minority in the north and nearly 30,000 died.

1966 (July 29): A group of Northern officers and men storm the Government house Ibadan where General Aguiyi Ironsi was staying with his host, Lt. Col Adekunle Fajuyi. The men are arrested and killed.

1966 (August 1): Lt. Col announces a take-over of the government to the nation

1967 (January 4): Nigeria's military leaders travel to Aburi near Accra, Ghana to find a solution problems facing the country.

1967 (May 30): Eastern leadership announces Republic of Biafra

1967 (July 6): First shots are fired that formally start of about thirty months of the Biafran war.

1970-1979: Military rulers like Gowon (1967-1975), Murtala Muhamed and Olusegun Obasanjo ran Nigeria and altered the constitution again, creating 19 federal states.

1970 (January 15): The Biafran War came to an end, leaving nearly two million people dead.

1971 (April 2): Nigeria changed from driving on the right hand side of the road to the left.

1973 (May): Government establishes the National Youth Service Corps Scheme and introduces compulsory one year service for all graduates of Nigerian universities.

1974: General Gowon reneged on a promise to restore civilian rule in 1976.

1974: Gowon announces indefinite delay in trasition plan.

1975 (October): Gowon was overthrown in a coup, on the anniversary of his ninth year in office, by General Murtala Mohammed. Murtala rolls out transition plan to civil rule due to terminate in 1979.

1976 (February 13): Murtala Mohammed was gunned down, in an abortive coup attempt, on his way to work from his residence.

1976 (February 14): General Murtala Mohammed was succeeded by General Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo pledges to keep to Murtala's transition agenda.

1976 (September 2): The Universal Primary Education Scheme (UPE) is introduced. This was to make education free and compulsory in the country.

1978: Ban on political parties was lifted

1979 (October 1): General Obasanjo handed over to Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari (Executive ). Five parties competed for the presidency, and Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won. 1979 (October 1) -1983 (December 31): Second Republic of Nigeria under Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

1980: The National Party of Nigeria(NPN) forms an accord with the Nigeria People's Party(NPP)to get a majority in parliament.

1981: The end of the oil price boom led to a general strike and the expulsion of more than one million foreign (non-Nigerian) African workers.

1981: The end of the oil price boom led to a general strike and the expulsion of more than one million foreign (non-Nigerian) African workers.

1982: Governors of the opposition parties, NPP, UPN, GNPP and PRP form the Progressive Alliance to checkmate the ruling party, NPN, especially after the crash of NPN/NPP accord at the national level.

1983: Elections are marred by widespread cheating.

1983(September): In Nigeria's second national elections, Shehu Shagari was re-elected president of Nigeria in August-September 1983.

1983(December 31): Major-General Muhammed Buhari led another military coup and overthrew the government of Shehu Shagari. Buhari suspended the 1979 constitution and arrested Shagari and other civilian politicians.

1983-1985: Buhari's "War Against Indiscipline (WAI)" uncovered corruption in the ranks of government and society.

1985 (August 27): General Ibrahim Babangida takes over power in a bloodless coup.

1986: General Babangida promises to restore civilian rule in 1990.

1987: Babangida postpones the date of return to civilian rule from October 1990 to October 1992.

1988: The government reduced fuel price subsidies as part of its austerity program. In response, transporters raised their prices 50-100% and the rest of the population, especially students, went on strike. Fuel prices were lowered again, making Nigeria a source of smuggled fuel to neighboring countries.

1988: The government increased the number of states in Nigeria to 21 (from 19). Later on, a further increase brought the number to 30.

1989(October): Babangida's government refused to legalize 13 independent political parties. Instead, the government founded the SDP (Center-left) and the NRC (Center- right) as the only legal political parties. 1991(September): Administrative reform produced 9 new states and 140 additional local government areas. The date for transition to civilian rule was pushed back again, to January 2, 1993.

1991: The government reversed itself and allowed "old breed" politicians to take part in presidential politics.

1991(December): Elections for state governors were dominated by new breed politicians, but the presidential campaigns featured new and old breed politicians.

1992: Babangida shifts handover date again to 1993.

1992: Census figures show that Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with 88.5 million people (Egypt is second with 52 million). Nigeria's GDP is second in Africa ($35 million to South Africa's $90 million), but per capita income is only $395.

1992(August/September): Presidential primaries marked by corruption, boycotts, violence, and illegality.

1992(October/November): Babangida cancelled the presidential primaries, banned leaders of both parties, and pushed the date of the presidential election back to mid 1993.

1993(March): New primaries yield Abiola and Tofa as presidential candidates. Primaries were marked by corruption.

1993 (June 12): Presidential elections are held and businessman Moshood Abiola of the SDP takes unexpected lead in early returns.

1993 (June 23): Babangida came on air to give reasons for annulling the results of the Presidential election. At least 100 people killed in riots in the southwest, Abiola's home area.

1993(August): Scheduled second round of presidential elections were not held.

1993 (August 26): Babangida keeps his promise to step down by naming an interim government of his own choice, headed by Ernest A. Shonekan.

1993 (October): The youthful group Movement for the Advancement of Democracy hijacked a Nigerian airliner to Niger in order to protest official corruption.

1993 (November 17): General Sani Abacha, defence minister in the interim government and most senior officer, seizes power abolishes the constitution and promises a short tenure.

1993 (November): The senate impeached their president, SDP member Iyorchia Ayu, a strong opponent of the interim government.

1993 (December): Abacha decided to keep the state governorships in military hands, in order to use them as patronage. 1994: Abiola proclaims himself president, is arrested and charged with treason. Army suppressed riots and strikes.

1994 (May): Abacha organizes the election of a Constitutional Conference.

1994 (October): The Nigerian government established the "Petroleum Trust fund" to disburse profits from the oil industry for public works and social intervention.

1995 (27 June): To celebrate the completion of a Draft Constitution by the Constitutional Conference, General Abacha re-allows political parties and political activity without "ruthless or provocative expressions". He does not, however, announce relief for political prisoners nor a deadline for elections

1995 (July): Former President Obasanjo is sentenced to 25 years in prison by a secret military tribunal for alleged participation in an attempt to overthrow the government.

1995 (September): Abacha gives way to international pressure by reprieving alleged coup plotters who have been sentenced to death.

1995 (1 October): Independence day; set date for the Provisional Ruling Council's proofreading of the Draft Constitution.

1995: Writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight members of his Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People are hanged for murder. Commonwealth suspends Nigeria. Arms and visa restrictions are imposed by the United States, European Union and South Africa impose . Abacha announces plan to restore civilian rule on October 1, 1998.

1996 (May): Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria's first president, died.

1996 (June): Kudirat Abiola, wife of Moshood Abiola, was shot by unknown gunmen.

1997 (January): Price of petrol is raised by 338 percent by the the Nigerian government, to reduce inflation and combat corruption. The governemt also introduces a five percent value- added tax (VAT), and devalued the currency by 386 percent.

1997 (December): Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, a former vice-president and political opponent of Abacha, died in prison, leading to charges that he was poisoned.

1998 (April): All five legal political parties adopt General Sani Abacha as their candidate for August 1 presidential elections.

1998 (June 8): General Sani Abacha died unexpectedly of a heart attack as he is poised to stand as the sole candidate in the August presidential elections.

1998 (June 9): Abubakar sworn in as Nigeria's eighth military ruler, by the "Provisional Ruling Council" (29 military officers). He promises to restore civilian rule. 1998 (July 7): Moshood Abiola died in detention of a heart disease before he could be released in a general amnesty for political prisoners. Rioting in Lagos led to over 60 deaths.

1998 (July 20): Abubakar promises to relinquish power on May 29, 1999.

1998 (Aug 31): People's Democratic Party becomes first major party to launch itself.

1998 (Sept 7): Release of draft constitution.

1998 (Nov 3): Obasanjo declares his intention to run for the presidency.

1999 (January 9): Elections to elect governors and legislators for Nigeria's 36 states.

1999 (January 28): Former finance minister Olu Falae selected by Alliance for Democracy (AD) as presidential candidate.

1999 (February 14): The executive of All Peoples Party announces choice of little known Ogbonnaya Onu its presidential candidate.

1999 (February 15): Former military ruler Obasanjo wins the presidential nomination of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

1999 (February 16): Falae named joint candidate of the alliance of All Peoples Party and Alliance for Democracy. Ogbonnaya Onu refuses to stand down for Falae.

1999 (February 17): Electoral commission clears Obasanjo and Falae for presidential elections.

1999 (May): A new Constitution adopted. It is based on the 1979 Constitution.

1999 (May 29): Former Military Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, is sworn in as Nigeria's democratically elected civilian President.

1999 (July 19): Scandal breaks out in the Federal House of Representatives over the qualifications of the speaker, Ibrahim Salisu Buhari.

1999 (July 21): Ibrahim Salisu Buhari resigns as the Speakerof the Federal House of Representatives.

1999 (October 27): Zamfara State adopts Sharia Law.

A chronology of key events: Circa 800 BC - Jos plateau settled by Nok - a neolithic and iron age civilization. Circa 11th century onwards - Formation of city states, kingdoms and empires, including Hausa kingdoms and Borno dynasty in north, Oyo and Benin kingdoms in south. 1472 - Portuguese navigators reach Nigerian coast. Biafra war

Biafra war: Attacks, blockade killed more than a million

Biafra war: Attacks, blockade killed more than a million 1970: Nigeria marks end of Biafra war Secret papers reveal Biafra intrigue 16-18th centuries - Slave trade: Millions of Nigerians are forcibly sent to the Americas. 1809 - Single Islamic state - Sokoto caliphate - is founded in north. 1830s-1886 - Civil wars plague Yoruba land, in the south. 1850s - British establish presence around Lagos. 1861-1914 - Britain consolidates its hold over what it calls the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, governs by "indirect rule" through local leaders. 1922 - Part of former German colony Kamerun is added to Nigeria under League of Nations mandate. 1960 - Independence, with Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa leading a coalition government. 1962-63 - Controversial census fuels regional and ethnic tensions. 1966 January - Balewa killed in coup. Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi heads up military administration. 1966 July - Ironsi killed in counter-coup, replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon. 1967 - Three eastern states secede as the Republic of Biafra, sparking bloody civil war. 1970 - Biafran leaders surrender, former Biafran regions reintegrated into country. 1975 - Gowon overthrown flees to Britain, replaced by Brigadier Murtala Ramat Mohammed, who begins process of moving federal capital to Abuja. Obasanjo - first time round 1976 - Mohammed assassinated in failed coup attempt. Replaced by his deputy, Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo, who helps introduce American-style presidential constitution. Sani Abacha

Gen Sani Abacha was accused of stealing some $3bn from state during his five-year rule. Horrors of the Abacha regime Obituary: Abacha leader with an iron grip 1979 - Elections bring Alhaji Shehu Shagari to power. 1983 January - The government expels more than one million foreigners, mostly Ghanaians, saying they had overstayed their visas and were taking jobs from Nigerians. The move is condemned abroad but proves popular in Nigeria. 1983 August, September - Shagari re-elected amid accusations of irregularities. 1983 December - Major-General Muhammad Buhari seizes power in bloodless coup. 1985 - Ibrahim Babangida seizes power in bloodless coup, curtails political activity. 1993 June - Military annuls elections when preliminary results show victory by Chief Moshood Abiola. 1993 August - Power transferred to Interim National Government. Abacha years 1993 November - General Sani Abacha seizes power, suppresses opposition. 1994 - Abiola arrested after proclaiming himself president. 1995 - Ken Saro-Wiwa, writer and campaigner against oil industry damage to his Ogoni homeland, is executed following a hasty trial. In protest, European Union imposes sanctions until 1998, Commonwealth suspends Nigeria's membership until 1998. 1998 - Abacha dies, succeeded by Major-General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Chief Abiola dies in custody a month later. 1999 - Parliamentary and presidential elections. Olusegun Obasanjo sworn in as president. 2000 - Adoption of Islamic, or Sharia, law by several northern states in the face of opposition from Christians. Tension over the issue results in hundreds of deaths in clashes between Christians and Muslims. 2001 - Tribal war in Benue state, in eastern-central Nigeria, displaces thousands of people.

In October, army soldiers sent to quash the fighting kill more than 200 unarmed civilians, apparently in retaliation for the abduction and murder of 19 soldiers. 2001 October - Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, South African President Mbeki and Algerian President Bouteflika launch New Partnership for African Development, or Nepad, which aims to foster development and open government and end wars in return for aid, foreign investment and the lifting of trade barriers to African exports. Ethnic violence 2002 February - Some 100 people are killed in Lagos in clashes between Hausas from mainly- Islamic north and ethnic Yorubas from predominantly-Christian southwest. 2002 November - More than 200 people die in four days of rioting stoked by Muslim fury over the planned Miss World beauty pageant in Kaduna in December. The event is relocated to Britain. 2003 12 April - First legislative elections since end of military rule in 1999. Polling marked by delays, allegations of ballot-rigging. President Obasanjo's People's Democratic Party wins parliamentary majority. Obasanjo re-elected 2003 19 April - First civilian-run presidential elections since end of military rule. Olusegun Obasanjo elected for second term with more than 60% of vote. Opposition parties reject result. EU poll observers cite "serious irregularities". Oil Nigeria is a big oil exporter, but violence and oil spills dog the industry 'Decades' to clean up Nigeria oil 'Blood oil' dripping from Nigeria 2003 July - Nationwide general strike called off after nine days after government agrees to lower recently-increased fuel prices. 2003 August - Inter-communal violence in the Niger Delta town of Warri kills about 100 people, injures 1,000. 2003 September - Nigeria's first satellite, NigeriaSat-1, launched by Russian rocket. 2004 January - UN brokers talks between Nigeria and Cameroon about disputed border. Both sides agree to joint security patrols. 2004 May - State of emergency is declared in the central Plateau State after more than 200 Muslims are killed in Yelwa in attacks by Christian militia; revenge attacks are launched by Muslim youths in Kano. Trouble in the south 2004 August-September - Deadly clashes between gangs in oil city of Port Harcourt prompts strong crackdown by troops. Rights group Amnesty International cites death toll of 500, authorities say about 20 died. 2005 July - Paris Club of rich lenders agrees to write off two-thirds of Nigeria's $30bn foreign debt. 2006 January onwards - Militants in the Niger Delta attack pipelines and other oil facilities and kidnap foreign oil workers. The rebels demand more control over the region's oil wealth. 2006 February - More than 100 people are killed when religious violence flares in mainly-Muslim towns in the north and in the southern city of Onitsha. 2006 April - Helped by record oil prices, Nigeria becomes the first African nation to pay off its debt to the Paris Club of rich lenders. 2006 May - The Senate rejects proposed changes to the constitution which would have allowed President Obasanjo to stand for a third term in 2007. Bakassi deal 2006 August - Nigeria cedes sovereignty over the disputed Bakassi peninsula to neighboring Cameroon under the terms of a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling. A special transitional arrangement for the Nigerian civilian administration will be in place for five years. 2006 October - Spiritual leader of Nigeria's millions of Muslims, the Sultan of Sokoto, is killed in a plane crash, the country's third major civilian air disaster in a year. 2007 April - Umaru Yar'Adua of the ruling People's Democratic Party is proclaimed winner of the presidential election. 2007 September - The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) threatens to end a self-imposed ceasefire and to launch fresh attacks on oil facilities and abductions of foreign workers. 2007 November - Suspected Nigerian militants kill 21 Cameroon soldiers in Bakassi peninsula.

Nigerian senate rejects Nigeria-Cameroon agreement for hand-over of Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon. 2007 December - Anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu is sidelined, but a high-profile graft-related arrest follows soon after. Oil prices soar: 2008 January - Oil trades at $100 a barrel for the first time, with violence in oil producing countries such as Nigeria and Algeria helping to drive up prices. 2008 February - Mend leaders Henry Okah and Edward Atata extradited from Angola on suspicion of involvement in attacks on oil companies. Report that Okah was subsequently killed in custody proved to be untrue.

Tribunal upholds election of Umaru Yar'Adua as president following challenge by rivals who wanted the vote annulled because of vote rigging. 2008 April - Two former health ministers and a daughter of President Olusegun Obasanjo are among 12 top health officials charged with embezzling around 470m naira (4m dollars) of public health funds.

Oil production cut by about half as a result of strike action and attacks on pipelines by militants; problems in Nigeria help keep world oil prices at record highs. 2008 August - Following agreement reached in March, Nigeria finally hands over the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon, ending a long-standing dispute.

Iran agrees to share nuclear technology with Nigeria to help it increase its generation of electricity. 2008 September - Militants in the Niger Delta step up their attacks on oil installations, in response to what they describe as unprovoked attacks by the military on their bases. Oil prices fall 2008 October - The government announces major budget cuts following steep falls in the price of oil. 2008 November - At least 200 people are killed during clashes between Christians and Muslims in the central Nigerian town of Jos. 2009 January - The main militant group in Niger Delta, Mend, calls off four-month cease-fire after army attacks camp of an allied group. 2009 March - Nineteen opposition parties unite to form a "mega-party" to compete against the governing People's Democratic Party in elections due in 2011. 2009 May - Niger Delta militant group Mend rejects government offer of amnesty and declares offensive against Nigerian military. 2009 July - Hundreds die in northeastern Nigeria after the Boko Haram Islamist movement launches a campaign of violence in a bid to have Sharia law imposed on the entire country. Security forces storm Boko Haram's stronghold and kill the movement's leader.

Government frees the leader of the Niger Delta militant group Mend, Henry Okah, after he accepts an amnesty offer. 2009 August - Two-month offer of a government amnesty for Niger Delta militants comes into force. 2009 November - President Yar'Adua travels to Saudi Arabia to be treated for a heart condition. His extended absence triggers a constitutional crisis and leads to calls for him to step down. Jos clashes: 2010 January - At least 149 people are killed during two days of violence between Christian and Muslim gangs in the central city of Jos. 2010 March - More than 120 people are killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians in the flashpoint city of Jos. 2010 May - President Umaru Yar'Adua dies after a long illness. Vice-president , already acting in Yar'Adua's stead, succeeds him. 2010 October - Nigeria marks 50 years of independence. Celebrations in Abuja marred by deadly bomb blasts. Boko Haram

The Islamist group Boko Haram is loosely modeled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks Boko Haram: What You Need To Know Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists? Why can't Nigeria defeat Boko Haram? 2010 November - Nigeria intercepts arms shipment from Iran, reports find to UN Security Council. 2010 December - Christmas Eve bomb attacks near central city of Jos kill at least 80 people. Attacks claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram spark clashes between Christians and Muslims. Some 200 killed in reprisal attacks. 2011 March - Goodluck Jonathan wins presidential elections. 2011 July - President Jonathan says he will ask parliament to amend the constitution so that presidents will serve a single, longer term in office.

Government says it wants to start negotiating with the Boko Haram Islamist group blamed for a series of recent attacks across northern Nigeria. 2011 August - Suicide bomb attack on UN headquarters in Abuja kills 23 people. Radical Islamist group Boko Haram claims responsibility. 2011 November - At least 63 people are killed in bomb and gun attacks in north-eastern town of Damaturu. Boko Haram claims responsibility. President Jonathan sacks the head of Nigeria's anti- corruption agency, saying that the body has failed to get to grips with graft during her tenure. Christmas Day attacks 2011 December - Nearly 70 people are killed in days of fighting between security forces and Boko Haram militants in north-eastern states of Yobe and Borno.

Christmas Day bomb attacks kill about 40 people. Boko Haram claims responsibility.

President Jonathan declares state of emergency to contain violence by Boko Haram. 2012 January - Fuel price strike causes major disruption. Unions suspend action when government reverses decision to drop fuel subsidies.

More than 100 killed in single day of co-ordinated bombings and shootings in Kano, shortly after Boko Haram tells Christians to quit the north. 2012 April - Chadian President Idriss Deby calls on countries neighboring northern Nigeria to set up a joint military force to tackle Boko Haram militants as they continue their attacks. He warns of the danger of the Islamist group destabilizing the whole Lake Chad basin area. 2012 June - Boko Haram claims responsibility for attacks on two churches in Jos city and Borno state, in which one person died and dozens of others were injured. An angry crowd kills six Muslims in Jos in retaliation. 2012 July - Nigeria signs a preliminary $4.5bn deal with US-based Vulcan Petroleum to build six oil refineries. Nigeria lacks refinery capacity and has to import most of its fuel needs, despite being a major oil producer. 2012 August - The army kills 20 Boko Haram fighters in a shootout in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. The government says it has started informal talks through "backroom channels" with Boko Haram to try to end attacks. Boko Haram ruled out peace talks shortly beforehand. Maiduguri clashes 2012 October - Boko Haram bomb army bases in Maiduguri. The army says it kills 24 Boko Haram fighters in subsequent clashes. 2012 November - At least 100 people are charged with treason after a march supporting independence for Biafra in the region's main town, Enugu. 2012 December - At least 20 Christians are killed in attacks by suspected Islamist militants in the northern states of Yobe and Borno over the Christmas/New Year period. 2013 May - Government declares state of emergency in three northern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa and sends in troops to combat the Boko Haram Islamist militants. 2013 July - Secondary schools close in Yobe state after a massacre of 22 pupils at a boarding school, which the government attributes to Boko Haram. The Islamist group has burned down several schools since 2010. 2013 September - Boko Haram Islamists murder more than 150 people in roadside attacks in the northeast. Separately, security forces fight Boko Haram armed insurgents in the capital Abuja. 2013 November - Six state governors defect from the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP) and merge with main opposition All Progressives Congress, leaving the PDP with fewer governors supporting it than the opposition.

Schoolgirls kidnapped 2014 April - Boko Haram kidnaps more than 200 girls from a boarding school. The US and Britain sends planes to help search for them and West African leaders agree to co-operate to fight the Islamists. 2014 July - Nigeria and neighbors agree to form a joint military force to combat the growing regional threat posed by Boko Haram. 2014 August - Boko Haram proclaims a caliphate - an Islamic state - in the territory it controls in the northeast, a declaration dismissed by the government. 2014 October - Nigeria's military says it has agreed a ceasefire with Islamist militants Boko Haram, and that the schoolgirls the group abducted will be released. The group denies it has agreed a ceasefire and says the girls have been married off.

President Goodluck Jonathan says he will seek a second term in office in elections, but these are postponed from February 2015 because of the Boko Haram insurgency. 2014 November - Boko Haram launches a series of attacks in northeastern Nigeria, capturing several towns near Lake Chad and running raids into neighboring Chad and Cameroon in early 2015. Hundreds of people in the north-east are killed and thousands more displaced. 2015 February-March - Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger form military coalition against Boko Haram, claim successes in pushing it back in all these countries.

Nigerian army captures Gwoza, which it believes is Boko Haram's main stronghold, in late March, leaving the armed group with only two towns under its control. 2015 March - Muhammadu Buhari wins the presidential election, becoming the first opposition candidate to so in Nigeria's history.

MINISTERS IN NIGERIA.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr.Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development Hajia Asabe Ahmed Minister of Environment Mrs. Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ms. Olajumoke Akinjide Supervising Minister of Labour and Productivity Taminu Turaki (SAN) Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment Mr. Olusegun Aganga Minister of State for Industry, Trade & Investment Dr. Samuel Ioraer Ortom Minister of Defense Gen. Aliyu Gusau Acting Minister of State for Defense Gen. Aliyu Gusau Minister for Youth Development Boni Haruna Minister of Culture and Tourism and National Orientation Chief Edem Duke Minister of Education Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau Minister of State for Education Professor (Mrs.) Viola Onwuliri Minister of Works Arc. Mike Onolememen Minister of State for Works Mr. Adedayo Adeyeye Minister of Finance Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Minister of State – Finance Ambassador Bashir Yuguda Minister of Foreign Affairs Alhaji Aminu Wali Minister of State II - Foreign Affairs Dr. Nuruddeen Mohammed Minister for Power Prof. Chinedu Osita Nebo Minister of State for Power Alhaji Mohammed Wakil Minister of Water Resource Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe Minister for Health Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu Minister of State for Health Dr Khaliru Alhassan Minister of Special Duties Alh. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN) Supervising Minister of Information Dr. Nuruddeen Mohammed Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development Mrs. Akon Eyakeny Federal Minister of Justice & Attorney General of the Federation Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN Minister of Police Affairs Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Deizani Alison-Madueke Minister of Mines and Steel Development Arc. Mohammed Musa Sada Minister of Communication Technology Mrs. Omobola Johnson Minister for Sports Dr Tamuno Danagog Minister of Transport Senator Idris A.Umar Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajia Zainab Maina Ministry of National Planning Ambassador Bashir Yuguda (Supervising) Minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs Hajia Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi Minister of Niger-Delta affairs Dr. Stephen Oru