Coup Plot Bombshell: Military Now Court-Martialing 16 Officers After Initial Denials

By: Abudu Olalekan

It’s happening. Finally. After all the whispers and the outright denials, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) is coming clean, sort of. Sixteen officers. They’re facing the music now. Military panels. Court-martial action is on the table. Serious business, this.

Remember back in October 2025? The DHQ dropped a statement. Said they arrested some officers. Acts of indiscipline. Breaches of rules. That was the official line. They kept it tight. No mention of anything bigger.

But Major-General Samaila Uba, the Director of Defence Information, he’s the one who spilled a bit more this Monday in Abuja. He confirmed the investigations are done. Finished. According to the proper military ways. Extant regulations, they call it. Sounds very official.

This investigation? It looked at everything. Why these personnel were acting up. And guess what they found? Some officers, they have “cases to answer.” Big cases. Allegations that weren’t just about being late for roll call. We’re talking about plotting to overthrow the government. Wow. That’s a heavy charge.

Major-General Uba was clear though. He said these kinds of actions? They don’t fit the mold. Not the ethics. Not the values. Not the professional standards expected from the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Nope.

So, what’s next for those with a case? They get formally charged. Before military judicial panels. Trials are coming. All under the Armed Forces Act and other service rules. That’s how they do it internally.

The spokesman made sure to say these steps are purely disciplinary. Internal housekeeping. Keeping the ranks tight. Cohesion. Making sure they can actually do their jobs effectively. He stressed loyalty. Respect for the constitution. Promised the public that fairness would be there. Due process, he said. We’ll see about that, won’t we?

This whole thing started bubbling up in the media late September 2025. Reports landed saying the military had busted a coup plot. Sixteen officers involved. Fourteen from the Army, they said. One Air Force. One Navy. Quietly, the story spread.

Initially? The military shut it down hard. Reportersroom saw those denials. “False,” “malicious,” designed to cause “unnecessary tension.” They blamed it all on disciplinary hiccups. Protocol slips. Nothing treasonous. The government backed that line too.

Some folks whispered that this whole mess is why the Independence Day Parade on October 1st got cancelled. A big deal, that parade. But the DHQ kept pushing the routine internal check narrative. Just sorting out some misdemeanours.

Then, the reality started to leak. Back in September 2025, reports from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) pointed fingers directly. Sixteen senior officers arrested. A Brigadier General in the mix. Colonels. Lots of Lieutenant Colonels and Majors. The alleged plan? Pretty grim. Assassination plots. Targeting the President, Bola Tinubu. The Vice President, Kashim Shettima. Other big shots too. They were detained while the digging continued.

Now, after months of silence, or maybe just vague statements, the military is moving to trial for these 16. The initial denial is looking a bit thin now, isn’t it? The road ahead for these officers, it looks long and hard. This isn’t just about being late for duty anymore. This is about the very structure of power in the nation. Let’s hope their promised fairness is real. Because the stakes are incredibly high here.