Defence Minister Says He Was Targeted in Foiled Coup Plot

The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has disclosed that his life was directly threatened in the recently foiled alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Speaking on Channels Television, Musa said he was marked for arrest by the plotters and would have been killed if he resisted.

He described those behind the plot as “unserious individuals” but stressed that the threat was real, prompting swift security action.

The aborted coup allegedly involved a network of serving and retired military officers, security personnel and civilians seeking to violently overthrow the government.

Citizen FM reports that over a dozen serving officers are currently in custody, while some civilian suspects are said to be on the run, with Interpol engaged to track them.

Musa said intelligence agencies uncovered secret meetings and communications linked to the plot, adding that investigations were conducted painstakingly to avoid indicting innocent persons.

He maintained that executing a coup in present-day Nigeria was almost impossible and insisted that Nigerians themselves would have resisted any attempt to return the country to military rule.

The defence minister also dismissed suggestions of ethnic motivations behind the plot and reaffirmed Nigeria’s non-aligned foreign policy, noting that recent defence cooperation with Türkiye would not undermine relations with the United States.

He added that military equipment and training support from Türkiye would soon begin, while confirming that he is considering joining the ruling All Progressives Congress.