The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), on Sunday claimed that he was among the intended targets of the recently foiled coup plot against President Bola Tinubu, stating that the conspirators meant to capture or shoot him if he resisted.
Musa made the statement while speaking as a guest on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, where he also labeled the suspects behind the scheme as “a bunch of very unserious individuals.”
The former Chief of Defence Staff acknowledged that he was personally targeted for arrest by the plotters, despite acknowledging that he was crucial in assisting security agencies in foiling the scheme.
You are undoubtedly aware that I was a target as well. He said, “I was supposed to be arrested and shot if I refused.”
But that’s the job. Anybody who goes into coup zeroes his mind because he knows if he succeeds, good.
If he fails, you are ready for whatever might happen.
Musa questioned the suspects’ ability to successfully challenge the Nigerian government, claiming that their actions demonstrated a basic ignorance of Nigeria’s democratic past and the strength of its armed forces.
But once more, I believe these men were just a group of people I don’t really know who weren’t that serious. He remarked, “If you look at the caliber of the individuals, I really don’t know what got into their heads to think that they could take on the armed forces like that.”
He continued by saying that Nigerians would have opposed any attempt to topple a democratically elected administration even in the absence of military assistance.
“What I even said was that even Nigerians would have fought them. Nigerians would have opposed them even in the absence of the military. Recall how Nigerians battled against military rule for a long period. Mr. President has always been one of them because of this.
“I believe something went wrong in Nigeria for them to believe that they could simply get up one morning and accomplish that. They must reset their minds.
Speaking on the arrests that have been made thus far, the Defense Minister stated that just “maybe one or two” of the individuals implicated were still at large.
“So far, most of them have been caught. Perhaps one or two, if there are any. It just started from the colonel himself, who was upset since he was not promoted. He didn’t meet the marks to be promoted,” he said.
Musa revealed that the conspiracy was fueled mostly by personal issues, stressing that the military forces’ advancement system is stringent and merit-based.
You are aware of how stringent the military’s advancement policy is. However, he failed to make it. He said, “So what he decided to do was probably go around and look at other people who had one issue or another…with the aim of bringing them in.”
“My pain is all those young officers who didn’t understand what was going on that he put in this mess,” Musa added, expressing concern for junior officers who were allegedly involved in the scheme. They now have to deal with the fallout.
As a result, everything changes in relation to him personally. He was merely a colonel, though. A colonel would never consider doing such a thing, in my opinion.
The minister of defense emphasized that, in contrast to earlier times, carrying out a coup in contemporary Nigeria was nearly impossible.
That was a long time ago. That was Nigeria of yesteryears. He added that security agencies acted based on confirmed information rather than conjecture. “It’s impossible,” he remarked.
“What information do you have if you hear that someone is attempting to do something and you enter the room because you will be going to court? The courts will discard you if you are unable to provide it. You then appear foolish.
He said the inquiry was rigorous and collaborative, engaging different intelligence agencies to prevent indicting innocent officers.
Since I was there, I was the one who inaugurated the board. I ensured that the board got going. We sent them to DIA to perform a full investigation together with the NIA, DSS, and every other person. Because we didn’t want any innocent people to be charged, a comprehensive inquiry was conducted, according to Musa.
He denied that the conspiracy was motivated by discontent with the current government, maintaining that it existed before Tinubu’s inauguration.
“These things were planned even right before the president took office. He called the revelation “quite unfortunate” and stated, “So it was a plan they had ahead of him since they knew he was the one who won the election.”
Musa further emphasized that earlier coups succeeded only with the backing of key military leaders, a factor absolutely absent in the current scenario.
“If you remember, during those days when they had coups, you had to have most of the big boys like the GOCs and service chiefs…You don’t have any of such. They simply don’t have access to some of these items because they are really low-ranking people,” he stated.
“I believe there is a serious problem with anyone who wants to limit democracy in this way.”
Musa’s comments come a day after Sunday PUNCH reported that former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, may be arraigned in absentia over suspected financial crimes, amid ongoing investigations into the supposed coup plan.
After Defense Intelligence Agency agents raided his Abuja home as part of an investigation into the purported conspiracy to topple Tinubu’s government, Sylva has been out of the country for several months.
It was reported that the former governor might be arraigned in absentia. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has also proclaimed the former governor sought for allegedly committing a $14,859,257 scam.
Top officials of the Department of State Services and the EFCC confirmed that the International Criminal Police Organisation and other partners were tracking Sylva.
In October 2025, the Defence Headquarters had disregarded rumors of a coup attempt, despite the arrest of 16 officers accused of financing the conspiracy.
The arrests were “intended to cause unnecessary tension,” according to a statement released on October 18, 2025, by Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, the Director of Defense Information at the time. Gusau refuted allegations that connected the arrests to an attempted coup and the postponement of the October 1 Independence Day parade.
Later on, though, the military changed its mind. Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, the newly appointed Director of Defense Information, stated last Monday that investigations had actually turned up evidence of a plot to overthrow Tinubu’s government, adding that multiple personnel had cases to answer.
