₦airaland Forum

A covert intelligence operation coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS), helped thwart a deadly plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government and assassinate key political figures, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.

Multiple senior administration insiders said the plot began to unravel in late September 2025 after an unnamed military officer with direct knowledge of the coup contacted the then Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede. The officer reportedly disclosed the scheme, saying he feared being implicated as an accessory to treason if he failed to alert authorities.

Our sources said around the same time, the SSS independently gathered intelligence indicating that some serving army officers were plotting to “destabilise the government and undermine Nigeria’s democracy.” An official familiar with the matter said the Director-General of the SSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, personally briefed Mr Oluyede on the findings.

Faced with converging intelligence from multiple sources, the two security chiefs agreed to act swiftly. A wide-ranging but discreet joint operation was launched by the army and the SSS, with coordinated arrests planned across different parts of the country to neutralise the coup’s masterminds and other collaborators.

On 30 September 2025, as President Tinubu travelled to Imo State for an official visit, unaware of the plot to depose and possibly assassinate him, the joint operation went into effect. The sweep led to the arrest of the alleged principal architects of the coup, alongside other military and civilian suspects.

The Chief of Defence Intellig”nce (CDI), Emmanuel Undiandeye, and the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, were subsequently briefed. Mr Undiandeye was then requested to detain the suspects in the underground holding facility of the Defence Intelligence Agency.

Following the initial arrests, President Tinubu was formally informed of the foiled plot. A visibly shaken president immediately ordered the cancellation of the 1 October National Independence Day parade. He also approved the constitution of a special investigative panel, which later led to additional arrests. The investigative panel was led by General Undiandeye.

One of the detained soldiers later escaped custody but was rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi, a military insider said. Meanwhile, a retired officer identified as General Adamu and a former governor, Timipre Sylva, accused of bankrolling the coup plotters, remained at large.

Mr Tinubu later fired and retired the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Musa as well as the chiefs of the navy and airforce. My Oluyede was appointed CDS and promoted to the rank of General. Weeks later, Mr Musa returned to government as minister of defence.

In a statement issued on 4 October, the Defence Headquarters said the arrested officers were being investigate for “indiscipline and breach of service regulations.” It added that preliminary findings suggested the officers’ grievances were linked to “career stagnation and failure in promotion examinations.”

Despite mounting evidence and a series of detailed reports by PREMIUM TIMES and other media outlets, the military repeatedly denied that a coup plot existed.
In an 18 October statement the Defence Headquarters described the probe involving the 16 arrested officers as a routine internal investigation aimed at maintaining discipline and professionalism within the armed forces.

However, on 26 January, the military publicly acknowledged for the first time that officers had indeed plotted to illegally overthrow President Tinubu’s administration. It announced that those indictected would be arraigned before a military judicial panel.

According to the Defence Headquarters, the investigation was “comprehensive” and conducted in line with established procedures, examining “all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel.”

It said the findings revealed “a number of officers with allegations of “plotting to overthrow the government,” describing such conduct as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

“Accordingly, those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before an appropriate military judicial panel to face trial in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations,” the statement added.

The plot to oust, kill Tinubu and others
In an earlier report, PREMIUM TIMES quoted sources with direct knowledge of the investigation as identifying top officials allegedly marked for assassination. They include President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

“There are other people targeted,” one source said. “But those are the key targets.”

The plotters also planned to detain senior military officers, including the service chiefs. “They did not want to kill them,” the source added.

According to the sources, the conspirators intended to assassinate the political leaders simultaneously. “They were waiting for a day when all of them would be in the country,” one official said. “Wherever they were, they would be assassinated.”

The sources said the plotters relied on informants within the Presidential Villa and around the officials slated for elimination.

“They have people inside the Villa who monitor the movements of these officials,” the source said. “The plan was to kill them at the same time and install a military government.”

LegendHero:
See the games this Northern coupist played

LagosOrigin:
The bridge that tinubu built with the north nearly collapsed on him on October 1st national Independence day.😂😂😂😂😂

It was an all round northern soldiers but, dem no born any tinubu supporters in Lagos well to call it a "Northern Coup".
for fear of the north.

Dem fear northerners pass dia mama

A conquered people .

LegendHero:
See the games these Northern coupist played.

They purposely chooses the day the president is going to Imo so as to blame it on the Ebous and cause kasala coz if it had suceeded, they will just come behind the scene and declare themselves as the new government.

How exactly do they think they will govern a united Nigeria even if they succeed? Are they thinking we are still in 1960?

LagosOrigin:
The bridge that tinubu built with the north nearly collapsed on him on October 1st national Independence day.😂😂😂😂😂

It was an all round northern soldiers but, dem no born any tinubu supporters in Lagos well to call it a "Northern Coup".
for fear of the north.

Dem fear northerners pass dia mama

A conquered people .

datola:
Very daft analysis by you. If you were right they shouldn't have been arrested na

fergie001:
In an earlier report, PREMIUM TIMES quoted sources with direct knowledge of the investigation as identifying top officials allegedly marked for assassination. They include President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

LegendHero:
We’ve been calling it Northern coup all this while on Twitter and everywhere.

It is not generating trend because they failed and no action was taken. They foiled the coup even before they took action.

Like that, it has less press coverage

LagosOrigin:
The bridge that tinubu built with the north nearly collapsed on him on October 1st national Independence day.😂😂😂😂😂

It was an all round northern soldiers but, dem no born any tinubu supporters in Lagos well to call it a "Northern Coup".
for fear of the north.

Dem fear northerners pass dia mama
A conquered people .

LagosOrigin:
The bridge that tinubu built with the north nearly collapsed on him on October 1st national Independence day.😂😂😂😂😂

It was an all round northern soldiers but, dem no born any tinubu supporters in Lagos well to call it a "Northern Coup".
for fear of the north.

Dem fear northerners pass dia mama

A conquered people .