ABUJA, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — Nigeria’s military has launched a formal investigation into at least 20 officers detained over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government, a move that reportedly prompted the cancellation of national independence celebrations out of security fears.
A multi-agency panel composed of representatives from the army, navy, air force, police, and State Security Service has been convened to probe what the Defence Headquarters has officially termed “indiscipline and breach of service regulations.”
The investigation follows a late September report by the Sahara Reporters newspaper that at least 16 officers, including a brigadier general and a colonel, were arrested after intelligence uncovered alleged secret meetings expressing discontent with the Tinubu administration.
“The report is true,” a military source familiar with the matter told the PREMIUM TIMES newspaper. “More have been picked up since the initial arrests.”
Sources allege the plan was for a violent takeover that included the assassination of top government officials.
“The plotters had tentatively picked a date for the coup and were continuing consultations when the coup plot leaked,” one military officer told the newspaper.
The leak reportedly caused significant alarm within the government, leading to the abrupt cancellation of the traditional military parade for Nigeria’s Independence Day on Oct. 1.
“The coup plot caused panic in government after it was leaked because the military high command had repeatedly assured the government of the military’s loyalty to the administration and civil authorities,” the officer said. “They did not want to take any risk.”
The suspects are reportedly being held at an undisclosed military facility in the capital, Abuja.
While military sources speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the arrests were linked to a potential government overthrow, the official military statement has been more reserved.
On Oct. 4, Defence spokesperson Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau acknowledged that officers were under investigation but framed the issue as a matter of internal discipline. He said preliminary findings suggested the officers’ grievances were related to “career stagnation and failure in promotion examinations.”
In that statement, Gusau assured that upon completion of the investigation, any “indicted officers will face the full military disciplinary process.”
The alleged plot emerges amid growing economic hardship in Africa’s most populous nation and follows a wave of military coups across the continent, with at least nine takeovers since 2020.
