Nollywood actor and filmmaker Stanley Amandi, a former chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), has been arrested in connection with an alleged coup plot targeting President Bola Tinubu’s administration, reports said.
Amandi, a respected figure in the Nigerian film industry, according to a report by Premium Times, was taken into custody in September 2025, although his alleged involvement in the foiled plot only became public recently. Security sources say the filmmaker was allegedly engaged by the plotters to function as a propaganda asset, tasked with shaping public messaging in support of a planned violent takeover.
Stanley Amandi. Credit: Facebook
The arrested filmmaker has worked as an actor, director and production manager, with credits including Tiger King (director and producer, 2008), The Album (director), Cornerstone (producer, 2019) and Once Upon a Dream (actor, 2024). A review of his social media activity shows that his last Instagram post was made on 19 September 2025, shortly before his arrest.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, Amandi was apprehended alongside serving and retired military officers accused of plotting to illegally remove the Tinubu administration. The alleged plot reportedly involved plans to assassinate top government officials, including President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Monday confirmed the existence of the alleged coup plot, announcing that investigations had been concluded and that implicated officers would face military judicial panels.
In its statement, the military said the findings of the probe had been submitted to the “appropriate superior authority” in line with existing regulations, stressing that the investigation was thorough and conducted in accordance with established procedures.
The DHQ noted that several officers were identified as having allegedly engaged in conduct “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
In October last year, 16 military officers were being investigated for an alleged coup plot, a development the army initially framed as a probe into “indiscipline and breach of service regulations.”
Subsequent inquiries, however, revealed that the investigation expanded, leading to the arrest of additional military personnel and civilians.
Sources said military suspects will first face court martial proceedings, while civilians implicated in the plot – including Amandi – are expected to be tried in civil courts.