circa 800 BC - Jos plateau settled by Nok - a neolithic and iron age civilisation.
circa 11th century onwards - Formation of city states, kingdoms and empires, including Hausa kingdoms and Borno dynasty in north, Oyo and Benin kingdoms in south.
1472 - Portuguese navigators reach Nigerian coast.
16-18th centuries - Slave trade: Millions of Nigerians are forcibly sent to the Americas .
1809 - Single Islamic state - Sokoto caliphate - is founded in north.
1830s-1886 - Civil wars plague Yorubaland, in the south.
1850s - British establish presence around Lagos .
1861-1914 - Britain consolidates its hold over what it calls the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, governs by "indirect rule" through local leaders.
1922 - Part of former German colony Kamerun is added to Nigeria under League of Nations mandate.
1960 - Independence, with Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa leading a coalition government.
1962-63 - Controversial census fuels regional and ethnic tensions.
1966 January - Balewa killed in coup. Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi heads up military administration.
1966 July - Ironsi killed in counter-coup, replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon.
1967 - Three eastern states secede as the Republic of Biafra , sparking bloody civil war.
1970 - Biafran leaders surrender, former Biafran regions reintegrated into country.
1975 - Gowon overthrown, flees to Britain , replaced by Brigadier Murtala Ramat Mohammed, who begins process of moving federal capital to Abuja .
Obasanjo - first time round
1976 - Mohammed assassinated in coup attempt. Replaced by Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo, who helps introduce American-style presidential constitution.
1979 - Elections bring Alhaji Shehu Shagari to power.
1983 January - The government expels more than one million foreigners, mostly Ghanaians, saying they had overstayed their visas and were taking jobs from Nigerians. The move is condemned abroad but proves popular in Nigeria .
1983 August, September - Shagari re-elected amid accusations of irregularities.
1983 December - Major-General Muhammad Buhari seizes power in bloodless coup.
1985 - Ibrahim Babangida seizes power in bloodless coup, curtails political activity.
1993 June - Military annuls elections when preliminary results show victory by Chief Moshood Abiola.
1993 August - Power transferred to Interim National Government.
Abacha years
1993 November - General Sani Abacha seizes power, suppresses opposition.
1994 - Abiola arrested after proclaiming himself president.
1995 - Ken Saro-Wiwa, writer and campaigner against oil industry damage to his Ogoni homeland, is executed following a hasty trial. In protest, European Union imposes sanctions until 1998, Commonwealth suspends Nigeria 's membership until 1998.
1998 - Abacha dies, succeeded by Major-General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Chief Abiola dies in custody a month later.
1999 - Parliamentary and presidential elections. Olusegun Obasanjo sworn in as president.
2000 - Adoption of Islamic, or Sharia, law by several northern states in the face of opposition from Christians. Tension over the issue results in hundreds of deaths in clashes between Christians and Muslims.
2001 - Tribal war in Benue state, in eastern-central Nigeria , displaces thousands of people.
In October, army soldiers sent to quash the fighting kill more than 200 unarmed civilians, apparently in retaliation for the abduction and murder of 19 soldiers.
2001 October - Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Algerian President Bouteflika launch New Partnership for African Development, or Nepad, which aims to boost development, encourage open government and end wars in return for aid, foreign investment and a lifting of trade barriers which impede African exports.
2002 January - Blast at munitions dump in Lagos kills more than 1,000.
Ethnic violence
2002 February - Some 100 people are killed in Lagos during bloody clashes between Hausas from mainly-Islamic north and ethnic Yorubas from predominantly-Christian southwest. Thousands flee their homes. City's governor suggests retired army officials stoked violence in attempt to restore military rule.
2002 March - Appeals court reverses death sentence against woman found guilty of adultery. Islamic court in north had ordered she be stoned to death.
2002 October - International Court of Justice awards the disputed Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon , but Nigeria is adamant that it will defend its right to the valuable land mass.
2002 November - More than 200 people die in four days of rioting stoked by Muslim fury over controversy surrounding the planned Miss World beauty pageant in Kaduna in December. The event is relocated to Britain .
2003 12 April - First legislative elections since end of military rule in 1999. Polling marked by delays, allegations of ballot-rigging. President Obasanjo's People's Democratic Party wins parliamentary majority.
Obasanjo re-elected
2003 19 April - First civilian-run presidential elections since end of military rule. Olusegun Obasanjo elected for second term with more than 60% of vote. Opposition parties reject result. EU observers say polling marred by "serious irregularities".
2003 July - Nationwide general strike called off after nine days after government agrees to lower recently-increased fuel prices.
2003 August - Nigeria says it will not hand over Bakassi peninsula - awarded to Cameroon in 2002 - for at least three years.
Violence between Ijaw and Itsekiri people in Delta town of Warri kills about 100 people, injures 1,000.
2003 September - Nigeria's first satellite, NigeriaSat-1, launched by Russian rocket.
2004 January - UN-brokers talks between Nigeria and Cameroon about disputed border: Both sides agree to start joint security patrols.
2004 May - State of emergency is declared in the central Plateau State after deadly religious clashes. Earlier in the month more than 200 Muslims are killed in Yelwa in attacks by Christian militia; revenge attacks are launched by Muslim youths in Kano .
2004 August-September - Deadly clashes between gangs in oil city of Port Harcourt prompts strong crackdown by troops. Rights group Amnesty International cites death toll of 500, authorities say about 20 died.
2004 October - Four-day general strike over fuel prices, stoking fears about the country's oil exports.
2005 February - National conference - intended to pave the way for constitutional reform - convenes in Abuja. The opposition boycotts the gathering saying it has too few powers.
2005 July - Paris Club of rich lenders agrees to write off two-thirds of Nigeria 's $30bn foreign debt.
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