A civil society organisation, the Concerned Pro-Democratic Activists of Nigeria, has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the case of military officers detained since October 2025 over an alleged coup plot, citing deteriorating health conditions and denial of family access.
The officers were arrested on October 4, 2025, following an announcement by the then Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, who said the 16 officers were being held for breaches of military regulations and acts of indiscipline.
According to the military’s statement at the time, investigations revealed that the officers’ grievances were largely driven by perceived career stagnation resulting from repeated failures in promotion examinations.
But military sources had confided in journalists that the arrests were connected to a failed coup attempt, pointing to the Federal Government’s abrupt cancellation of the Independence Day Parade on October 1, 2025, as evidence of the gravity of the situation.
Speaking with newsmen in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Sunday, the Chairman of the group, Yusuf Musa Dauda, raised the alarm over the health conditions of the detained officers, alleging that some were falling seriously ill without adequate medical care.
Dauda decried the complete restriction of family access to the detainees, noting that relatives had been prevented from seeing or communicating with them since their arrest.
He described the prolonged detention without trial as unacceptable in a democracy and called on the President to either release the officers or charge them to court.
“The Nigerian Defence Headquarters, through its former Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, announced the arrest of some military officers on October 4, 2025, over alleged indiscipline and breach of service regulations,” Dauda said.
“While we strongly condemn any attempt to overthrow government through undemocratic means, we want to appeal to the authorities to handle this matter with fairness and justice.
“We are calling on the Federal Government and our listening President to grant these officers proper medical attention. They should also be allowed to communicate with their families to ease their worries.
“If there is no case against them, they should be released. Otherwise, they should be charged to court and tried according to law,” he stated.
The group expressed hope that the government would act swiftly on their appeal in the interest of justice and the welfare of the detained officers.