Alleged coup: Detained soldiers battling failing health, group alleges

CDS Olukoyede

A pro-democracy group, the Concerned Pro-Democratic Activists of Nigeria, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to consider releasing military officers detained over an alleged coup plot in October 2025, citing concerns over their deteriorating health and prolonged confinement.

On October 4, 2025, the former Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, announced the arrest of 16 officers for breaches of military regulations and acts of indiscipline.

“Investigations have revealed that their grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation caused by repeated failure in promotion examinations,” the military statement said.

However, sources in the military had told the media that the officers were detained over an alleged failed coup, citing the decision of the Federal Government to suddenly cancel the Independence Day Parade on October 1, 2025. Speaking to journalists on Sunday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, Chairman of the Concerned Pro-Democratic Activists of Nigeria, Yusuf Musa Dauda, expressed concern that some of the detained officers who were arrested since October last year are falling seriously ill in detention without any proper medical attention.

Dauda decried the total denial of family members to access, see or speak with them since their arrest, to at least know their conditions and alleviate their worries.

The group further lamented the prolonged detention of the military officers without trial or proper legal procedures in ‘a democratic era’, and appealed to President Bola Tinubu to look into the matter and release them if there is no known case against them. Punch