The Minister of Defense General Christopher Musa rtd has explained why the military initially denied reports of a foiled coup against President Bola Tinubu.
Musa made the clarification while responding to questions during an interview on Sunday Politics, a programme on Channels Television, stating that the military needed to establish verifiable facts before making any public disclosure.
According to him, allegations of a coup are extremely sensitive and require careful handling to avoid misinformation.
He said: “Once you mention coup, you will not see some of these guys because they know the consequences.
“The truth is that we wanted to be sure because it was an act of indiscipline and it’s all part of it because for what they did started just like that.
“So, it was during the investigation that these things got revealed. And so, it was important for us to follow the steps to ensure that what we are reporting is direct.
“This is because coup is such a serious thing that we don’t want to say this today and tomorrow we say another thing. It’s better we say no for now until we find out after investigation.”
It will be recalled that reports of an alleged coup plot to remove President Tinubu emerged in late September 2025.
However, the Defence Headquarters on January 26 confirmed the existence of the plot, stating that it was uncovered through joint intelligence efforts involving the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services DSS and the Defence Intelligence Agency DIA.
