The Defence Headquarters has denied claims that senior military officers were detained over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing the reports as entirely false and misleading.
The clarification followed a viral online report alleging that sixteen senior officers were being held by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for planning a coup — a claim which also linked the alleged plot to the cancellation of Nigeria’s Independence Day parade on October 1.
Reacting to the report on Saturday, October 18, the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, said the Armed Forces had earlier issued a statement on the matter weeks ago and nowhere was a coup mentioned.
“We issued a press release on this weeks ago, and we never mentioned that officers were arrested for a coup,” Gusau said in response to inquiries by The ICIR.
According to him, the previous statement released by the Defence Headquarters on October 4 explained that the officers in question were arrested during a routine military exercise for reasons related to “indiscipline and breach of service regulations,” not for political activities.
The statement added that investigations into the matter showed the officers’ grievances stemmed mainly from “perceived career stagnation” and repeated failure in promotion examinations. Some of the affected personnel, it said, were already facing disciplinary measures for various offences.
“Their conduct was deemed incompatible with the standards of military service. Upon completion of investigations, indicted officers will face the full military disciplinary process,” the Defence Headquarters stated.
Reaffirming its position, the military emphasized that the disciplinary actions were part of ongoing internal efforts to maintain professionalism, order, and accountability within the Armed Forces.
“The Armed Forces will not tolerate behaviour that undermines the integrity of the institution or threatens its constitutional role under democratic authority,” the statement added.
The Defence Headquarters further assured the public of its unwavering loyalty to the Constitution and its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy, peace, and territorial integrity under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu.
