On January 13, 1972 Lieutenant Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a bloodless military coup that overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Kofi Busia, ending Ghana's Second Republic and installing the National Redemption Council under Acheampong's chairmanship. Busia's Progress Party government, in office since 1969, had inherited a crushing foreign debt and low world cocoa prices, and its harsh austerity measures, including a steep December 1971 devaluation of the cedi and cuts that hit the army's budget and amenities, had alienated both the public and the officer corps. With Busia abroad in London for medical treatment, Acheampong, temporarily commanding the First Infantry Brigade around Accra and working with a few key officers, sprang the coup on January 13, seizing broadcast stations, closing the airport, and announcing that the constitution was withdrawn, parliament dissolved, and political parties banned.
The ceremonial president, the former chief justice Edward Akufo-Addo, was also removed, and leading politicians were detained. From London, Busia condemned the coup and predicted its failure, but it held. Acheampong's NRC reversed the devaluation and launched Operation Feed Yourself, ruling until 1975.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Prime Minister Kofi Busia, overthrown on January 13, 1972 while abroad in London for medical treatment; he was not physically harmed, and remained in exile. President Akufo-Addo was also removed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Kofi Busia (prime minister overthrown while abroad)
Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (colonel and coup leader, NRC chairman)
Edward Akufo-Addo (ceremonial president also removed)
Sources
The National Redemption Council came into power through a bloodless coup led by Acheampong which overthrew the democratically elected Progress Party government of Dr. K.A. Busia, taking place while Busia was in the United Kingdom for medical reasons, after which the constitution was suspended and all political parties banned; one of the main grievances leading to the coup had been the currency devaluations.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, National Redemption Councilopen source ↗
On 13 January 1972 Col Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, temporarily commanding the First Infantry Brigade, led a bloodless coup against the government of Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo, the second successful military coup by the Ghana Armed Forces, announcing that the 1969 constitution was withdrawn, parliament dissolved, and all political parties banned.
SOURCE REVIEWEDUlinzi Africa Resources, The 13 January 1972 Coupopen source ↗
In London where Prime Minister Busia had arrived for medical treatment there was dismay at the Ghanaian diplomatic mission, and Busia issued a statement condemning the coup and declaring it might not succeed, saying he believed the people of Ghana would resist this selfish and senseless coup, while the Kotoka International airport was closed and telephone and telegram links were cut.
SOURCE REVIEWEDGhanaian Museum, January 13 1972 Acheampong coupopen source ↗
The civilian regime under Busia, handicapped by the great burden of foreign debt it had inherited and low cocoa prices, was slow to produce results, and in January 1972 impatient army officers intervened and the government was taken over by a National Redemption Council of military men chaired by Col Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, with the army's disaffection rooted in the 1971 to 1972 austerity budget that cut defence spending.
Fate coding: Busia was overthrown while abroad in London and not physically harmed, matching the dataset fate; he remained in exile. Note: the ceremonial president Edward Akufo-Addo (a former chief justice) was also removed, and leading politicians were detained; the record treats Busia, the effective head of government, as the primary deposed leader. Arc context: this is the second Ghanaian coup, following the February 1966 overthrow of Nkrumah (a distinct earlier dataset event); Acheampong's NRC reversed Busia's devaluation and launched Operation Feed Yourself. Arc forward: Acheampong was himself removed by Fred Akuffo in 1978, and the Rawlings coups followed in 1979 and 1981, all separate later events.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Prime Minister Kofi Busia, overthrown on January 13, 1972 while abroad in London for medical treatment; he was not physically harmed, and remained in exile. President Akufo-Addo was also removed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; 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
“Regime in Ghana Reported Ousted,” January 13, 1972
“Ghana’s Leader, a General, Quits and is Succeeded by his Deputy,” July 6, 1978
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 →