Nigeria military says some officers will face court-martial over alleged coup plot

Nigeria’s military has acknowledged that several of its own officers will face court‑martial over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government, reversing months of categorical denials and reviving questions about the stability of Africa’s largest democracy.

In a statement issued Jan. 26, Defence Headquarters in Abuja said a “comprehensive investigation” into 16 officers arrested in October 2025 had “identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government.”

“Those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before an appropriate military judicial panel in accordance with the Armed Forces Act,” Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, the military’s director of defence media operations, said.

No names, ranks or specific charges have been released, and no trial dates have been announced.

The rare public admission of a coup plot marks a sharp departure from the military’s earlier stance. In October, Defence Headquarters confirmed that officers had been detained but dismissed reports of a political conspiracy as false, insisting the matter was purely disciplinary—tied to “acts of indiscipline” and career grievances.

The about‑face has set off intense scrutiny in a country that has lived under uninterrupted civilian rule since 1999 but remains haunted by its history of military takeovers.

From “indiscipline” to allegations of treason

Rumors of a plot surfaced in late September 2025, when local media reported that 16 senior officers had been taken into custody by the Defence Intelligence Agency over an alleged plan to unseat Tinubu, who took office in May 2023.

Those reports gained traction on Sept. 30, when the federal government abruptly canceled the Oct. 1 Independence Day parade marking Nigeria’s 65th year since independence. The presidency gave no detailed explanation, prompting speculation that security concerns were behind the move.

On Oct. 4, Defence Headquarters confirmed that 16 officers had been arrested but framed the detentions as an internal personnel matter. The officers, it said at the time, were being investigated over breaches of service regulations linked to “perceived career stagnation” and repeated failures in promotion examinations.

“The speculations and insinuations of a coup plot are false, malicious and should be disregarded,” the military said in that October statement, warning the public against “unfounded narratives” that could undermine morale.

Behind the scenes, military and intelligence agencies continued a months‑long investigation. According to officials, that probe wrapped up in January and concluded that some of the detained officers had crossed a red line.

Uba said the inquiry had “carefully examined all circumstances” around the conduct of the 16 men and found behavior “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

The Defence Headquarters statement did not indicate how many of the 16 would be sent before a court‑martial, saying only that “those with cases to answer” would be prosecuted.

Mid‑ and senior‑level officers under the spotlight

While the military has not published a list of the accused, Nigerian investigative outlets that obtained internal documents and interviewed security officials have reported that the original 16 detainees were drawn from all three services, with the vast majority serving in the army.

Those reports describe a group that includes a brigadier general, a colonel and several lieutenant colonels and majors—mid‑ to senior‑ranking officers who typically command brigades and battalions or hold key staff roles. Most are said to belong to the infantry, with others from signals and ordnance units, alongside a navy lieutenant commander and an air force squadron leader.

Several of the officers served in combat deployments against Islamist insurgents in the northeast or in operations against armed groups in the Niger Delta and central states, reflecting the core of Nigeria’s fighting force.

One brigadier general with past command of a major brigade in Kano and a garrison in Lagos has been described by security officials, speaking to local media on condition of anonymity, as a suspected ringleader. He was previously investigated in 2024 over alleged diversion of food aid and improper disposal of military equipment, but no coup‑related charges were made at the time.

The Defence Headquarters has not confirmed any names and has said it will not comment on individual cases while internal procedures are underway.

Adding to the sense of a broader dragnet, a more recent investigative report, citing security sources, claimed that the list of suspects in custody or under active investigation has expanded to about 40 individuals. That roster allegedly includes around 25 serving or retired military personnel across the army, navy and air force; a police inspector attached to the Presidential Villa in Abuja; and several civilians accused of providing funding, reconnaissance or propaganda support.

Those details have not been publicly corroborated by the military, and no civilian indictments have been announced.

What is known—and what isn’t—about the alleged plot

Defence Headquarters has so far described the alleged wrongdoing only in general terms. The January statement referred to “allegations of plotting to overthrow the government” but did not specify whether the officers are accused of treason, mutiny, conspiracy or lesser offenses under the Armed Forces Act.

Officials have not said whether any troop movements took place, whether weapons were diverted, or whether any attempt was made to seize government buildings or media outlets—typical hallmarks of past coups in Nigeria.

Unidentified security officials quoted by local media have alleged that the network of suspects discussed plans to assassinate Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and senior security chiefs, and to seize the Presidential Villa, key barracks and Abuja’s international airport. Some of the alleged civilian accomplices, they said, worked as contractors or drivers inside the presidential complex and were tasked with monitoring the movements of top officials.

These accounts could not be independently verified, and no official charge sheet has been made public. Lawyers and rights advocates say the lack of detail, months after the first arrests, underscores the need for transparency as the military moves toward court‑martial proceedings that will likely be held behind closed doors.

“The public is being asked to accept that there was a serious coup threat, but without access to evidence or even the names of the accused, it is difficult to assess the scope of the danger or the fairness of the response,” said one Abuja‑based constitutional lawyer, who asked not to be named to avoid jeopardizing clients who serve in the armed forces.

Quiet reshuffle at the top

The coup scare unfolded as Tinubu overhauled the security leadership.

On Oct. 24, less than a month after the Independence Day parade was called off and weeks after the initial arrests, the president dismissed all three service chiefs and the chief of defense staff, appointing a new top brass team.

Gen. Olufemi Oluyede was named chief of defense staff, replacing Gen. Christopher Musa. New chiefs of army, navy and air force were also installed. The presidency said the shake‑up was aimed at “strengthening Nigeria’s national security architecture.”

Officials rejected suggestions that the changes were triggered by coup fears. Some opposition figures and security analysts, however, linked the timing to unease within the ranks.

Within weeks of his removal as chief of defense staff, Musa was nominated as minister of defense—an appointment interpreted by some as a sign that he retained Tinubu’s confidence even as the military leadership was refreshed.

Trials to test rule of law and morale

Under Nigeria’s Armed Forces Act, a court‑martial can try service personnel for offenses ranging from insubordination and conduct prejudicial to good order to mutiny and treasonable acts. Penalties can include dismissal, imprisonment and, in extreme cases, death.

Uba said the forthcoming proceedings would “uphold the principles of fairness and due process” and were “purely disciplinary measures” intended to protect “order, discipline and operational effectiveness” while reinforcing respect for constitutional authority.

Human rights advocates have expressed concern about the conditions under which the suspects have been detained. Some lawyers say families have struggled to gain access to the officers, and rights groups allege that at least some detainees have been held without adequate medical care.

The military has not publicly addressed those specific allegations but has rejected suggestions that the case is politically motivated or that it is conducting a witch hunt within the officer corps.

The way the trials are handled is likely to resonate beyond the barracks. Nigeria’s courts and security agencies have long been criticized for opaque proceedings in high‑profile security cases, including past coup trials and terrorism prosecutions.

Economic anxiety, regional coups form the backdrop

The revelations come at a time of deep economic and social strain.

Tinubu’s government has pursued sweeping market‑oriented reforms since 2023, scrapping fuel subsidies and loosening controls on the naira. Those steps won praise from some international lenders but triggered a sharp rise in fuel prices and a spike in inflation, which hovered above 30% in 2024.

The World Bank and other institutions estimate that more than half of Nigeria’s roughly 220 million people now live in poverty, with rural poverty rates exceeding 70%. Wage growth has lagged far behind prices, and protests over the cost of living and insecurity have turned deadly in several states.

At the same time, the military is stretched thin. Troops are deployed against jihadist fighters in the northeast, heavily armed criminal gangs in the northwest and north‑central, violent clashes over land and grazing routes in the Middle Belt, and separatist violence in the southeast.

Against that backdrop, officers complain privately of war fatigue, slow promotions and inadequate support, according to analysts who track Nigeria’s security sector. In its October 2025 denials, Defence Headquarters itself acknowledged that the detained officers had “grievances” related to career progression.

Regionally, West and Central Africa have experienced a cascade of coups and attempted coups since 2020, toppling governments in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon and destabilizing Sierra Leone, Guinea‑Bissau and other states.

Tinubu has been among the most outspoken leaders against that trend. As chair of the Economic Community of West African States, he pushed for sanctions and even floated military intervention after soldiers seized power in Niger in 2023, telling fellow heads of state that “there is no place for coups in West Africa.”

Nigeria also dispatched troops to neighboring Benin in 2025 as part of efforts to deter or respond to unrest there.

The emergence of an alleged coup plot at home complicates that stance and will be closely watched by regional governments and international partners that regard Nigeria as a pillar of democratic rule in the region.

A test for Nigeria’s democratic trajectory

Nigeria experienced repeated military takeovers between 1966 and 1993 before returning to civilian rule in 1999. Since then, power has changed hands through elections, sometimes contentious, but the armed forces have publicly insisted they are committed to staying in the barracks.

If substantiated in court, the latest allegations would represent the most serious internal challenge to that norm in more than two decades.

For now, Nigerians are left with an outline and many unanswered questions: a group of unnamed officers arrested, the cancellation of a national parade, a sudden reshuffle of the military high command, months of official denials, and then a brief statement confirming that some of those officers will face trial for allegedly trying to bring down an elected government.

How the authorities fill in the gaps—or choose not to—may shape public trust in both the armed forces and the presidency. The outcome of the court‑martial will determine the fate of the accused. The openness, fairness and scope of the process are likely to influence something larger: whether Nigerians see the episode as evidence that their democracy has the resilience to confront threats from within, or a sign of deeper fault lines still hidden from view.