Nigeria became an independent country in 1960. A coup and counter-coup in 1966 triggered
a massacre of Igbo living in the north, which prompted a secessionist movement in the eastern
(predominantly Igbo) states. The subsequent Biafran war (1967–1970) resulted in around 75,000
battle-related deaths (BRDs) and the number of civilian deaths is estimated to be in the millions.
Over the next 30 years, attempts to establish a lasting democracy were unsuccessful. Changes
in government tended to occur through coups rather than elections. Despite the political turmoil,
the period was relatively peaceful in terms of state conflict, with only 150 BRDs recorded by UCDP
(from border disputes with Chad in 1983, and with Cameroon in 1996). After 15 years of military
government, civilian rule returned with the presidential elections of 1999.
The UCDP database lists three conflicts since 2000, with the conflict in the north east escalating
to the intensity of over 1,000 BRDs in 2013: