Sixteen Nigerian military officers will face court-martial proceedings over allegations of plotting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government last year, according to an official armed forces statement. The officers, arrested in October following what authorities described as “acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations,” are now formally charged with attempting to subvert the constitutional order.
While military officials initially dismissed rumors of an attempted coup, subsequent investigations have led to acknowledging that some of the detained officers will undergo trial before a military judicial panel. The armed forces emphasized that the judicial process would uphold principles of fairness and due process while ensuring accountability.
This development occurs against Nigeria’s complex historical backdrop of military involvement in politics, which included multiple successful coups between 1966 and 1993. The sensitivity surrounding coup allegations reflects the nation’s transition to sustained civilian governance since 1999.
The military statement explicitly condemned any attempts to unseat elected government as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards” of Nigeria’s armed forces. Recent years have seen occasional rumors about military dissent amid concerns over national instability, security challenges, and public frustration—all of which the military has consistently denied.
Nigeria’s armed forces have repeatedly publicly reaffirmed their commitment to democratic governance and loyalty to civilian authority throughout the current period of uninterrupted civilian rule.