The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, has revealed that he was among the targets of a foiled coup plot and was marked for assassination by the plotters.
General Musa made the disclosure on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, days after the military announced that some of the sixteen officers arrested in October would face trial over an alleged attempt to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.
“I was also a target, I am sure you know,” said the minister, who is the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
“I was supposed to be arrested, and if I refused, I was supposed to be shot,” the Kaduna-born general disclosed.
Military to try officers
In October, the military arrested sixteen officers over what it described as “acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations.”
However, authorities last week said investigations had uncovered allegations that some of the officers were involved in a plot to overthrow the government, an act described as being inconsistent with the ethics, values, and professional standards of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN).
“Accordingly, those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before an appropriate military judicial panel to face trial in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations,” the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, said in a statement.
‘Unserious people’
Several senior government officials and other prominent individuals were allegedly pencilled down for assassination in the coup plot.
The attempted coup has also been linked to the cancellation of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary parade. Additionally, the residence of former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, was reportedly raided over an alleged connection to the plot.
Reacting, General Musa described those behind the plan as “unserious individuals.”
“I think these guys were a bunch of unserious individuals. If you look at the calibre of persons involved, I don’t know what got into their heads to think they could take on the Armed Forces like that,” he said.
The minister added that Nigerians themselves would have resisted any attempt to seize power by force.
“Even Nigerians would have fought them. Nigerians have resisted military rule for a long time. Mr President himself was part of that struggle. For anyone to wake up one morning and think they can do that in Nigeria, I think they need to reset their brains,” he said.
Nigeria experienced a series of military coups between 1966 and 1993 but returned to democratic rule in 1999 and has remained so ever since.
The alleged coup plot comes amid a wave of military takeovers and attempted coups across West Africa, including a failed coup attempt in neighbouring Benin Republic late last year.
