By TruthNigeria Staff
(Lagos) Rumors that 16 Nigerian military officers, including a brigadier general attached to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), plotted to overthrow President Bola Tinubu have roiled the capital. The episode began with an exclusive report by Sahara Reporters and has since morphed into a story about secrecy: not only the alleged plot itself, but also the unusual silence that followed in much of Nigeria’s mainstream media.
The alleged arrests, which sources say were carried out in late September by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), were widely replicated online after Sahara Reporters published names and details tying some suspects to the office of the National Security Adviser headed by Nuhu Ribadu, a retired police officer and former anti-corruption czar now serving as President Tinubu’s top security adviser.
The government, however, has framed the detentions as routine disciplinary action citing “indiscipline and breach of service regulations” and has offered no comprehensive public accounting. That combination of an explosive exclusive and official reticence has left many newsrooms hesitant to dig deeper.
The Sahara Reporters lead and its limits
Sahara Reporters’ October dispatch named officers allegedly attached to the NSA and singled out an officer with the surname Al-Makura, described as recently returned from training in China and related to former Nasarawa governor Tanko Al-Makura as a central figure. The report said the plot was timed for the October 1 Independence Day parade, prompting that event’s abrupt cancellation.
TruthNigeria has corroborated the broad contours of Sahara’s report through two independent securitysources who spoke on condition of anonymity: both confirmed coordinated detentions in late September and that suspects had been moved to a DIA facility in Abuja. One source described the operation as “surgical,” while the other said the intelligence picture was still “unclear and fluid.”
But beyond those confirmations, efforts to obtain documentary proof or on-the-record military comment have stalled. The Defence Headquarters issued a short statement blaming “career stagnation” and failures in promotion examinations for the arrests. Defence Media Operations director Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, did not expand on names or charges when contacted.
Why major outlets kept quiet
What followed was not merely a debate over facts but an absence of reporting. Several national dailies and television networks either repeated the Ministry’s terse statement or avoided the subject entirely. Editors and reporters interviewed by TruthNigeria said they had been warned sometimes indirectly that aggressive coverage could be framed as “undermining national security.”
“One senior editor was told to ‘tread carefully’ by a source close to security circles,” an Abuja-based reporter said. “That kind of message travels quickly in editorial meetings. People self-censor not because they want to, but because the risk is real.”
A former senior defense official agreed that the government has increased pressure on reporting around sensitive security matters. “Control isn’t always a crackdown,” he told TruthNigeria. “Sometimes it’s a pattern: short official lines, few briefings, and an expectation that the media will not escalate.”
That pattern – brief official denials followed by limited independent verification – helped Sahara’s exclusive spread online while leaving mainstream outlets wary of amplification. In effect, the vacuum created by official silence allowed rumor to flourish.
The Al-Makura Link and Why It Matters
Sahara’s framing focused attention on ONSA because that office coordinates national intelligence and draws personnel from the army, police, and other security services. If officers attached to the NSA were implicated, the allegation struck at the heart of the machinery meant to prevent exactly this kind of threat.
One of the officers named by Sahara is a nephew of Tanko Al-Makura, a prominent Nasarawa politician who was appointed by the Tinubu administration in July 2025 as Board Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). This detail, if confirmed, explains why the story touched elite networks quickly. Another source cautioned that familial ties alone do not prove guilt, but said the association increased political sensitivity around detentions.
The reported involvement of a Brigadier General, a senior one-star officer in the Nigerian Army is significant. A brigadier general typically commands a brigade of several thousand troops or holds a senior staff post. The rank brings access to operational information and influence over lower ranks. “When an officer at that level is detained, it’s not a casual disciplinary matter,” a retired colonel said. “It suggests either substantial evidence or deep alarm inside the command.”
Analysts and Civil Society: Distrust Grows
Scholars and rights groups say the episode reveals a broader problem: an erosion of public trust driven as much by secrecy as by any plausible plot. “When the government controls the flow of information and avoids transparent answers, people assume the worst,” said Anuihe Aba, a Nigerian Journalist. “That dynamic is more damaging to democracy than the rumor itself.”
Human-rights lawyers and retired generals have publicly condemned ideas of military intervention and urged restraint. Retired Brigadier General Bashir Adewinbi suggested the story could be politically motivated – a line echoed by some who suspect rivals may weaponize rumors.
Still, two independent security sources said the DIA’s operation was real; they differed over whether the detainees were plotting or gesturing discontent. One described “meetings and discussions” among disaffected officers; the other warned against reading those discussions as an imminent plan.
Analysts also point to a regional backdrop of military takeovers in West Africa, from Mali to Niger which has normalized talk of coups in some circles. “The contagion effect is real,” said Philip Esan, a security analyst. “But contagion needs both grievances and opportunity; the public silence here arguably provides the political oxygen for such speculation.”
What Editors Should Demand
TruthNigeria’s reporting shows there are confirmed detentions and credible ties to the NSA office, facts that justify further investigation. What is missing is transparent, public evidence: names, charges, dates and a clear timeline from official investigators. In the absence of that, newsrooms face a choice: amplify unverified leaks or demand clarity.
President Tinubu remains in office, and the detained officers remain in custody. But the episode is unlikely to fade simply because mainstream outlets have been cautious. In a nation with a history of coups, the combination of an explosive scoop, official silence, and a press choosing caution over inquiry has become, in itself, a story about power and the precarious state of Nigeria’s democracy.
