Buhari Executed 40 Soldiers For Plotting A Coup (New York Times 1984)

LONDON, Nov. 17— More than 40 soldiers have been executed in Lagos after a plot to assassinate Nigeria's military leaders was uncovered, a London newspaper said in its Sunday issue.

The paper, The Observer, said 42 officers and enlisted men were involved, including two lieutenant colonels and four majors. The plan had been to gun down the Nigerian leader, Gen. Mohammed Buhari, and his ministers while they were watching the independence day parade in Lagos on Oct. 1, the paper said.

But the plot was revealed, and the plotters were rounded up and shot in an underground firing range at Ikeja, outside Lagos, it said. General Buhari toppled the civilian Government of President Shehu Shagari in a coup on Dec. 31, 1983.