In a dramatic turn of events, at least sixteen senior military officers, including a Brigadier-General, have reportedly been
detained by the Nigerian Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) over an alleged conspiracy to topple the government of
President Bola Tinubu, sources familiar with the matter have revealed to SaharaReporters. While the Nigerian
military’s official statement cited issues of “indiscipline” and repeated failure in promotion examinations as the reason for
the arrests, insiders say the underlying trigger was far more serious—a plot to carry out a coup d’état. According to the
statement issued earlier by Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, the arrests were part of a
“routine military exercise.” He stated that the officers’ grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation
associated with repeated failures in promotion examinations, alongside other unspecified infractions of service
regulations. However, a senior source in the DIA who spoke with SaharaReporters under condition of anonymity contradicted
that explanation. The source claimed that the officers, who ranged in rank from Captain to Brigadier-General, had been
clandestinely meeting to stage a takeover of government. “They have started doing secret meetings on how to overthrow the
President and other top government officials,” the source said. “Their main objective was to overthrow President
Tinubu and announce a military government.” The officers were reportedly arrested at their respective homes in
various states across the country and remain in detention at the facilities of the DIA. One of the most alarming revelations
is that the aborted Independence Day parade on October 1 was allegedly canceled to thwart the coup plotters.
Intelligence sources claimed that planners intended to use that national event as the stage to execute the takeover, with plans
to assassinate the President and other political figures. “The parade was canceled because intelligence indicated
they planned the coup on October 1st during a military parade. … Their plan was to shoot at the President and other top
politicians during the event.” If confirmed, this would mark one of the most audacious internal security threats faced
by the Tinubu administration. Since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the country has witnessed only a handful of
successful military coups. At this time, the military has not fully disclosed the identities of all the detained officers or the
extent of the investigation. They continue to maintain the public posture that the
arrests relate to breaches in military discipline and regulations, and not an attempt to destabilize the government.
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