The Census crisis in Nigeria occurred in 1963. The crisis was a result of disputes over the accuracy of the population figures reported during the census exercise. The federal government of Nigeria at the time had proposed a nationwide census exercise to determine the population of each region and to aid in the distribution of resources and political power. However, the census exercise was marred by allegations of fraud, malpractice, and manipulation of data by regional officials who sought to inflate the population figures of their respective regions in order to gain political advantage. This led to protests and violence in some parts of the country, and the crisis ultimately contributed to the political instability that led to the first military coup in Nigeria in 1966.