by George Ozalla
Brigadier General Musa Abubakar Sadiq of the Nigerian Army has been identified by the Defence Headquarters as the senior officer at the centre of a failed coup attempt against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government. Military authorities said he and 15 other officers are to be arraigned before a military court following the conclusion of an extensive investigation into alleged breaches of service regulations last October.
Sadiq, an indigene of Nasarawa State and a member of the 44th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy, is suspected to have led the planning of the aborted operation. The Defence Headquarters described the conduct of the identified officers as inconsistent with the professional standards expected of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and confirmed that appropriate disciplinary action will proceed under the Armed Forces Act.
The 16 officers facing trial come from the Army, Navy and Air Force and span ranks from Brigadier General to Squadron Leader. They include Brigadier General Musa Abubakar Sadiq of Nasarawa, Colonel M. A. Ma’aji of Niger State, Lieutenant Colonel S. Bappah of Bauchi State, Lieutenant Colonel A. A. Hayatu of Kaduna State, Lieutenant Colonel Dangnan of Plateau State, and Lieutenant Colonel M. Almakura of Nasarawa. Other Army officers charged are Major A. J. Ibrahim of Gombe State, Major M. M. Jiddah of Katsina State, Major M. A. Usman of the Federal Capital Territory, Major D. Yusuf of Gombe State, Major I. Dauda of Jigawa State, Captain I. Bello, Captain A. A. Yusuf, and Lieutenant S. S. Felix. From the Navy and Air Force, Lieutenant Commander D. B. Abdullahi and Squadron Leader S. B. Adamu are also facing charges.
Military officials said the arraignment will proceed before a military judicial panel in line with institutional procedures, stressing that the measures are aimed at preserving discipline, cohesion and operational effectiveness within the armed forces. Security sources indicated that the alleged coup was planned for late October last year, targeting senior government officials, though investigations into the full scope of the plot are ongoing.
The case has attracted national attention and sparked discussions among legal and security experts about civil-military relations, the resilience of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, and the challenges facing the country’s security framework.
