Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has explained why the military initially denied reports of a foiled coup against President Bola Tinubu.
Musa gave the explanation while responding to questions during Sunday Politics, a programme on Channels Television, saying the military needed to verify facts before making any public disclosure.
According to him, coup allegations are extremely sensitive and require careful handling to avoid misinformation.
He said: “Once you mention coup, you will not see some of these guys because they know the consequences.
“The truth is that we wanted to be sure because it was an act of indiscipline and it’s all part of it because for what they did started just like that.
“So, it was during the investigation that these things got revealed. And so, it was important for us to follow the steps to ensure that what we are reporting is direct.
“This is because coup is such a serious thing that we don’t want to say this today and tomorrow we say another thing. It’s better we say no for now until we find out after investigation.”
Recall that reports of an alleged coup plot to remove President Tinubu emerged in late September 2025.
The Defence Headquarters, however, confirmed the plot on January 26, following joint intelligence findings by the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
