Coup Atlas Research Database
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45201231967ConspiracyDissident coup

Ghana, 1967 — dissident coup conspiracy

Ghana (GHA)West Africa, AfricaJanuary 23, 1967

Event Summary

This entry is coded 23 January 1967, during the rule of the National Liberation Council, the military and police junta that had overthrown President Kwame Nkrumah on 24 February 1966 while he was abroad. Nkrumah took asylum in Guinea, where President Sekou Toure made him honorary co-president and where he actively sought his own restoration to power, keeping alive fears of pro-Nkrumah plotting inside Ghana. The NLC, chaired by Lieutenant General Joseph Ankrah, governed amid austerity, unemployment and unrest, and in January 1967 it authorized the use of military tribunals for civilians accused of subversion, reflecting its concern about conspiracies against the new order.

The January 1967 coding sits in this period of anti-subversion vigilance, months before the failed counter-coup of 17 April 1967 in which the prominent Ewe general Emmanuel Kotoka was killed.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The NLC junta held power; it survived the April 1967 counter-coup and later handed over to civilian rule in 1969
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Lt. Gen. Joseph Ankrah (NLC chairman and head of state)
Kwame Nkrumah (deposed president plotting his restoration from Guinea)
National Liberation Council (military-police junta)

Sources

The National Liberation Council overthrew Nkrumah on 24 February 1966 while he was visiting China, and established an eight-member junta of four army and four police officers.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 1966 Ghanaian coup d'etat open source ↗
In January 1967 the NLC authorized the use of military tribunals for civilians accused of subversion.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: National Liberation Council open source ↗
Nkrumah took asylum in Guinea, where President Sekou Toure made him honorary co-president, and he remained there until his death in 1972.
SOURCE REVIEWED GlobalSecurity: Nkrumah Coup open source ↗
A counter-coup on 17 April 1967, widely attributed to ethnic divisions, resulted in the death of the prominent Ewe general Emmanuel Kotoka.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: National Liberation Council open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot is precisely dated 23 Jan 1967 in the sources located this session; the coding sits in the NLC's January 1967 anti-subversion measures amid pro-Nkrumah plotting from exile, before the April 1967 counter-coup. Context with strong framing. First Ghana record in the run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
45201231967

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The NLC junta held power; it survived the April 1967 counter-coup and later handed over to civilian rule in 1969.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Irish Times

“Coup foiled in Ghana,” January 24, 1967

New York Times

“Ghana Says Army Officers And Nigerian Plotted Coup,” January 24, 1967

Washington Post

“Ghana Asserts 5 Plotted To Assassinate Leaders,” January 24, 1967

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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