The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has explained why the Nigerian military initially denied reports of a foiled coup plot against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
General Musa gave the explanation while fielding questions during an interview on Sunday Politics, a programme aired on Channels Television. He said the military exercised caution in making public statements because it needed to verify facts before addressing such a sensitive national security issue.
According to him, allegations of a coup require thorough investigation, as premature disclosure could compromise intelligence efforts and lead to misinformation.
“Once you mention coup, you will not see some of these guys because they know the consequences,” Musa said. “The truth is that we wanted to be sure because it was an act of indiscipline, and for what they did, it started just like that.”
The Defence Minister explained that critical details surrounding the alleged plot only emerged during the course of investigations, stressing that the military followed due process to ensure accuracy.
“It was during the investigation that these things got revealed. And so, it was important for us to follow the steps to ensure that what we are reporting is direct,” he said.
He further noted that the gravity of coup allegations informed the military’s decision to initially downplay the reports until investigations were concluded.
“Coup is such a serious thing that we don’t want to say this today and tomorrow we say another thing. It’s better we say no for now until we find out after investigation,” Musa added.
Recall that reports had surfaced about an alleged coup plan in late September 2025 aimed at removing President Tinubu from office. At the time, the military dismissed the claims.
However, on January 26, the Defence Headquarters officially confirmed the existence of the plot, citing joint intelligence gathered by the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
