Bello got warnings from Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun and Premier of the Western Region Samuel Akintola before to the 1966 Nigerian coup d’état.
Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, an officer in the Nigerian Army, killed Bello on January 15, 1966, during a coup that overthrew the country’s post-independence administration. At the time, he was still Northern Nigeria’s premier.
This was Nigeria’s first coup in history, signaling the beginning of the military’s ascent to political power. Along with several political leaders from the north and west, his old friend Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was also slain during the coup