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On 27 August 1985 a 'palace coup' led by Major-General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief of Army Staff, removed Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon — the latter while on the Hajj. Babangida took the unprecedented title 'President' rather than 'Head of State', signalling a more political military regime.
His eight-year rule saw the IMF debate of 1985–86, the Structural Adjustment Programme of 1986, the Anti-SAP riots of 1989, the Dele Giwa letter bomb, the Orkar coup attempt of 1990, the founding of the SDP and NRC as the only two parties (Decree No. 9 of 1989) and the annulment of the 12 June 1993 election.