The Special Military Tribunal constituted under the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Decree No. 3 of 1984 represents the most aggressive deployment of quasi-judicial machinery in Nigeria's military history against former civilian officeholders, resulting in sentences of imprisonment running into decades and the confiscation of assets from a wide cross-section of Second Republic politicians.
The Tribunal was the creature of the junta that seized power on 31 December 1983, toppling the civilian government of President Shehu Shagari. The coup was led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (Head of State) and Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon (Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters). The primary justification was the gross economic mismanagement and corruption of the Second Republic (1979–1983), during which Nigeria's external reserves had been depleted from approximately $10 billion to near zero despite record oil revenues.
Decree No. 3 established special military tribunals, each presided over by a senior military officer and including two other officers and a legal practitioner. The tribunals held exclusive jurisdiction over any person alleged to have engaged in corrupt practices, unjust enrichment, or abuse of public office. Evidentiary and procedural rules were drastically curtailed, the right of appeal was severely limited, and an ouster clause blocked High Court supervision.
Four main tribunals were established across the federation's zones. By mid-1984, approximately 500 public officials had been arrested — including all nineteen Second Republic state governors, federal ministers, and senior civil servants — and assets frozen nationwide. Findings were broadly consistent: contracts had been inflated and kickbacks collected; import licences corruptly issued; state allocations diverted; government enterprises looted. The first convictions were returned in May–June 1984. Former Anambra Governor Jim Nwobodo received 22 years; former Lagos Governor Lateef Jakande, 10 years; former Ogun Governor Bisi Akande, 42 years (later reduced). Former President Shagari and Vice-President Ekwueme were detained without trial.
Babangida, who ousted Buhari on 27 August 1985, commuted most sentences, released detained politicians, and dissolved the tribunals — characterising some proceedings as politically selective. Most convicts served one to three years in practice. Asset recovery was partial and inconsistently enforced. Decree No. 3's architecture was invoked rhetorically in subsequent anti-corruption discourse, including during Buhari's civilian presidency (2015–2023).