Alleged Coup Plot: Five detained officers fall ill, families plan protest

Fresh concerns have been raised over the welfare of Nigerian military officers detained over an alleged coup plot against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following reports that several of them have fallen critically ill while in custody.

Business Hallmark had reported in October last year that a number of officers were arrested in connection with the alleged plot, with former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, also linked to the investigation. Sylva has consistently denied any involvement.

According to a report by SaharaReporters on Friday, at least five of the detained officers are said to be seriously ill, with two reportedly collapsing last week. The officers were initially held at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) but were later transferred to what sources described as a dark, underground military detention facility in Abuja.

A military source quoted by the online medium said some of the officers have remained silent about their condition, while at least one of those detained was allegedly not directly involved in the purported plot.

“About five of them are critically sick and two of them collapsed last week. Till now, some of them are keeping mum. One of them wasn’t even involved. He is being punished for being aware, but failing to alert the military authorities,” the source said.

Families of the detained officers have also expressed alarm, alleging that they have been denied access to their relatives and kept uninformed about their whereabouts for months.

“We have been denied access to them since their arrest. We can’t even say for sure where they were moved to,” a family member said.

Angered by the prolonged silence from military authorities, some of the wives of the detained officers disclosed plans to stage a protest at the Defence Intelligence Agency headquarters in Abuja.

“We are planning to massively protest at the DIA to demand their whereabouts. The DIA office is beside the State House Clinic at Mambilla Barracks. About 15 of us want to go there and ask if our husbands are still alive,” one of the wives said.

She further lamented that families have been plunged into financial hardship, alleging that the officers’ ATM cards were seized following their arrest.

“Since they were arrested, the military authorities have denied them access to their families and lawyers. We don’t have access to their bank accounts. We can’t pay our children’s school fees or take care of basic needs,” she added.

Investigations into the alleged coup plot are being handled by the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Parker Undiandeye, who was reappointed by President Tinubu on October 24, 2025, having first assumed office on June 23, 2023.

The Defence Intelligence Agency, established in 1986, is Nigeria’s principal military intelligence body, responsible for intelligence gathering and analysis to support the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence in safeguarding national security.

At the time of the arrests, top military sources disclosed that no fewer than 16 senior officers drawn from the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force were detained following weeks of covert surveillance and coordinated operations by military intelligence operatives.

Among those reportedly detained is a Nigerian Navy officer, Lieutenant Commander D.B. Abdullahi.

The detained officers, as earlier compiled by Premium Times, include Brigadier General Musa Abubakar Sadiq, believed to be the suspected leader of the alleged plot; Colonel M.A. Ma’aji; Lieutenant Colonels S. Bappah, A.A. Hayatu, P. Dangnap and M. Almakura; Majors A.J. Ibrahim, M.M. Jiddah, M.A. Usman, D. Yusuf and I. Dauda; Captains Ibrahim Bello and A.A. Yusuf; Lieutenant S.S. Felix; Lieutenant Commander D.B. Abdullahi of the Nigerian Navy; and Squadron Leader S.B. Adamu of the Nigerian Air Force.