Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has delivered a stinging rebuke of those accused of plotting to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu, describing the alleged conspiracy as a reckless and “foolhardy” adventure that was doomed from its very conception — one so poorly conceived that even ordinary Nigerian civilians would have been enough to stop it.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Musa made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Arise Television on Friday, May 29, 2026, as the general court martial of military officers, civilians, and a cleric accused of involvement in the October 2025 plot continues in earnest.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that the minister left little doubt about his contempt for the alleged plotters, saying: “I just looked at the people that were involved, and I shook my head. They are just a bunch of confused individuals that exposed very junior officers who didn’t know their left from their right, and now put them into this mess. It’s quite unfortunate.”
He went further, saying that the plotters had so little support that ordinary Nigerians would have stopped them without the military’s intervention. “Even the civilians in Nigeria would have taken them down. So I think it was just foolhardy for them to have done what they wanted to do,” he said.
The defence minister argued that the alleged conspirators lacked any compelling justification for seeking to seize power, insisting the country and the armed forces were in good shape under Tinubu. “The country was going very well. The armed forces have been taken care of quite well. We’ve never had issues with our salaries. Efforts have been made to even increase our allowances. Our troops are doing quite well,” he said
Musa framed the ongoing prosecution as a lesson for younger officers, stating: “This is an opportunity to show the junior ones that this coup doesn’t pay.” He added that democracy is “far, far better than any military regime.” Legit.ng
The minister reserved particular sympathy for lower-ranked officers drawn into the plot, describing them as victims of a senior officer’s recklessness. “We always feel bad when we see our colleagues in this situation. But the good thing is that the system has a way of going about it,” he said. He added that due process was being followed and that the accused were being given fair opportunity to defend themselves.
The conspiracy first emerged in late September 2025 after intelligence was received by the Nigerian Army and the State Security Service. The original plan was said to have targeted the May 29, 2023 presidential inauguration. The Defence Headquarters initially denied any coup attempt, insisting the arrested officers were only undergoing routine internal scrutiny — even as raids linked to the investigation, including a search of the Abuja residence of former Bayelsa governor Timipre Sylva, continued to widen its scope.
In January 2026, the Defence Headquarters finally confirmed the plot, stating that its findings identified “a number of officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government,” and that the indicted officers would be arraigned before military judicial panels
With trials now underway and the Defence Minister speaking openly about the plot’s futility, the Nigerian government appears confident that the threat to constitutional order has been firmly contained — while sending a clear message to any who may harbour similar ambitions.
CDA News Nigeria will continue to follow the ongoing court martial proceedings.
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