Nigeria By Locogracie Period: Jan 1, 1979 to Apr 16, 2015 1979 - 2015 Oct 1, 1979 Alhaji Shehu Shagari elected Dec 1, 1983 Major-General Muhammad Buhari seizes power Aug 27, 1985 Ibrahim Babangida seizes power, curtails political activity Jun 1, 1993 Elections canceled, forecasted victor Chief Moshood Abiola Aug 1, 1993 Interim National Gov't takes over Nov 17, 1993 General Sani Abacha seizes power Jan 1, 1994 Abiola arrested after declaring himself rightful president Nov 10, 1995 Ken Saro-Wiwa hanged. EU imposes sanctions, Commonwealth suspends Nigerian membership Jun 8, 1998 Abacha dies, succeeded by Abubakar Jul 7, 1998 Abiola dies on the date of his release under suspicious circumstances Feb 27, 1999 Olsegun Obasanjo elected president Jan 1, 2000 Adoption of Sharia law in North, resulting in tensions and violence between Muslim/Christian populations Oct 1, 2001 NEPAD Apr 12, 2003 First legislative elections since end of military rule in 1999 Apr 19, 2003 Olusegun Obasanjo elected for second term, "Serious irregularities" Sep 1, 2003 Nigeria's first satellite launched Jul 1, 2005 Paris Club of rich lenders agrees to write off 20 billion of Nigeria's debt Apr 1, 2006 Debt to Paris Club paid off May 1, 2006 Senate rejects proposed changes to the constitution which would have allowed President Obasanjo to stand for a third term Apr 1, 2007 Umaru Yar'Adua becomes President Mar 1, 2009 Nineteen opposition parties unite to compete against the governing People's Democratic Party Jul 1, 2009 Boko Haram, hundreds dead May 1, 2010 Yar'Adua dies. VP Goodluck Jonathan becomes President. Mar 1, 2011 Goodluck Jonathan wins presidential elections Jan 1, 2014 Boko Haram kidnaps more than 200 girls from a boarding school