Nigerian authorities have charged six military officers over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The arrests were announced Monday by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff.
Who Has Been Charged
The six accused are: two lieutenant colonels, three majors, and one captain. They are charged with conspiring to seize the Presidential Villa in Abuja, arrest senior civilian officials, and broadcast a takeover address. All six are in military custody at the Defence Headquarters awaiting a court-martial. Officials declined to name the accused publicly, citing operational and legal constraints.
Tinubu’s Response
President Tinubu addressed the nation Monday evening, confirming the plot had been, in his words, “decisively neutralised,” and praising Nigeria’s intelligence services for early detection. “Our democracy is not for sale to any khaki ambition,” Tinubu said, referencing Nigeria’s troubled history of military coups between 1966 and 1999. He thanked regional partners for their solidarity.
Regional Response
The African Union and ECOWAS both issued statements supporting the constitutional order and condemning any attempt to overthrow an elected government. ECOWAS reminded member states of its zero-tolerance policy on unconstitutional changes of government — a policy that saw Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea suspended in recent years following actual coups.
The Political Context
The alleged plot surfaced as Nigeria heads toward its 2027 general elections and economic pressures continue to bite under Tinubu’s fuel subsidy removal and FX reforms. Separately this week, Nigeria’s broadcast regulator banned radio and television presenters from sharing personal opinions or airing “divisive political content” ahead of the vote — a move some critics see as an overreach but the regulator has defended as necessary for stability.
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