Nigerian Defence Intelligence Allegedly Detains Officers Over Alleged Coup Plot To Overthrow Tinubu – Report
Some senior military officers have allegedly been detained by the Armed Forces of Nigeria for allegedly planning a coup d’etat to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.
According to SaharaReporters, the military officers who were at least 16 in number were planning to stage a coup and take over the government from “selfish politicians”.
The report noted that while the Nigerian military, in a statement a few days ago, claimed the detention of the officers was linked to “repeated failure in promotion examinations and perceived career stagnation”, top sources revealed that they were actually arrested over a coup plot.
The report noted that top officials of the Defence Intelligence Agency involved in the arrest told SaharaReporters that the officers led by an Army Brigadier General were planning to stage a coup and take over government from “selfish politicians”.
He said the coup attempt was thwarted after an intelligence gathering by the DIA and sister agencies, the report noted.
“The 16 officers were planning a coup. The military authorities were just being diplomatic in the statement released by the spokesperson. They have started doing secret meetings on how to overthrow the President and other top government officials,” the source told Saharareporters.
“They’re all officers within the rank of Captain to Brigadier-General and are still in detention at DIA as we talk. They were picked recently at their various houses around the country. Their main objective was to overthrow President Tinubu and announce a military government.”
The report further said another source added that the October 1 Independence Day parade was cancelled because of the coup attempt.
He said, “Yes, they were arrested for planning to stage a coup and take over government. That was the main reason why the Independence Day parade scheduled to hold on Wednesday, October 1, as part of activities marking the country’s 65th Independence Anniversary was cancelled.
“This was because intelligence reports showed they planned the coup on October 1st during a military parade. So the National Security Adviser and other service chiefs asked the Tinubu-led government to cancel the parade earlier scheduled to mark the day.
“Their plan was to shoot at the President and other top politicians during the event. The move by the military authorities announcing their arrests was to douse tension.”
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
