An interim investigation into an alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu has identified an Army colonel as the coordinator of a clandestine network of military officers accused of planning to overthrow the government, according to a report seen Tuesday.
The report said the colonel, whose name was withheld, coordinated funding, recruitment and early operational planning for the alleged plot, drawing in officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Investigators said the effort went beyond internal dissent and entered preliminary execution stages.
At the time the arrests were made, the then Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau (retd.), dismissed media reports of a coup plot as an attempt to sow tension and distrust, saying the matter was strictly an internal disciplinary issue. He said an investigative panel had been constituted and that its findings would be made public.
Providing an update on Monday, the current Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, said a comprehensive investigation had now been concluded in line with established military procedures and forwarded to the appropriate superior authority.
In the interim report, investigators described the indicted colonel as the alleged linchpin of the plot. They said the plan advanced to covert surveillance of critical national assets, including the Presidential Villa, the Armed Forces Complex, Niger Barracks in Abuja, and international airports in Abuja and Lagos.
The alleged conspiracy was uncovered following intelligence on what the report described as “disgruntled elements within the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the civil populace.” Subsequent arrests, interrogations and link analysis, investigators said, revealed a structured network aimed at a coup d’état.
The report said the colonel, who reportedly failed promotion examinations twice, leveraged shared grievances to recruit like-minded officers. Investigators alleged he openly complained about career stagnation and spoke of the need to “change government.”
In October 2025, Defence Headquarters announced the arrest of 16 officers for acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations. Media reports later said those detained — ranging in rank from captain to brigadier general — were arrested by the Defence Intelligence Agency over secret meetings allegedly linked to the plot and to the cancellation of the Oct. 1 Independence Day parade.
