BREAKING: How Army, SSS foiled Plot to Kill President Tinubu, Akpabio, Abbas and Shettima

A covert counter-intelligence operation jointly coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS) disrupted an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and assassinate senior political figures according to Premium Times.

Multiple senior government and security officials said the alleged conspiracy began to unravel in late September 2025 after a serving military officer with direct knowledge of the plan contacted the then Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede. The officer reportedly disclosed details of the plot, explaining that he feared being implicated as an accessory to treason if he failed to alert authorities.

Around the same period, the SSS independently obtained intelligence indicating that some serving army officers were plotting to destabilise the government and undermine Nigeria’s democratic system. An official familiar with the development said the Director-General of the SSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, personally briefed Mr Oluyede on the findings.

With intelligence from different sources pointing to the same threat, both security chiefs agreed that swift but discreet action was required. A joint operation was quietly launched by the army and the SSS, with coordinated arrests planned across several parts of the country to neutralise the alleged masterminds and their collaborators.

The operation was executed on 30 September 2025, as President Tinubu travelled to Imo State for an official engagement. Security sources said the president was unaware at the time that he was allegedly a key target of the plot. The coordinated sweep led to the arrest of several serving officers identified as principal actors, along with other military and civilian suspects.

Following the arrests, the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Undiandeye, and the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, were briefed on the development. Mr Undiandeye was subsequently requested to detain the suspects in the underground holding facility of the Defence Intelligence Agency.

After being formally informed of the foiled plot, President Tinubu ordered the immediate cancellation of the 1 October Independence Day parade. He also approved the constitution of a special investigative panel to conduct a deeper probe into the matter. The panel was led by General Undiandeye and reportedly uncovered further details that resulted in additional arrests.

During the course of the investigation, one of the detained soldiers reportedly escaped custody but was later rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi State, according to a military insider. Security sources also disclosed that a retired officer identified as General Adamu and a former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, accused of bankrolling the plotters, evaded arrest and remained at large.

In the weeks that followed, major changes occurred within the military hierarchy. President Tinubu dismissed and retired General Musa as Chief of Defence Staff, alongside the chiefs of the Navy and the Air Force. Olufemi Oluyede was subsequently appointed Chief of Defence Staff and promoted to the rank of General. Weeks later, Christopher Musa returned to government as Minister of Defence.

Despite the arrests, the Defence Headquarters initially downplayed the situation. In a statement issued on 4 October, it said the detained officers were being investigated for indiscipline and breaches of service regulations, adding that preliminary findings linked their grievances to career stagnation and failure in promotion examinations.

The military continued to deny the existence of a coup plot, insisting in an 18 October statement that the probe involving 16 officers was a routine internal investigation aimed at maintaining discipline and professionalism within the armed forces.

However, on 26 January, the Defence Headquarters publicly acknowledged for the first time that officers had indeed plotted to illegally overthrow President Tinubu’s administration. It announced that those indicted would be arraigned before a military judicial panel.

According to the Defence Headquarters, the investigation was comprehensive and conducted in line with established procedures, examining all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel. It said the findings revealed a number of officers facing allegations of plotting to overthrow the government, describing such actions as inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

Those with cases to answer, the military said, would face trial before an appropriate military judicial panel in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations.

Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation also disclosed that the alleged conspiracy extended beyond a seizure of power. Senior officials reportedly marked for assassination included President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.

“There are other people targeted, but those are the key ones,” one source said.

The plotters were also said to have planned the detention of senior military officers, including the service chiefs, rather than killing them. According to the sources, the conspirators intended to assassinate the political leaders simultaneously, waiting for a time when all of them would be within the country.

“They were monitoring their movements closely,” one official said. “Wherever they were, the plan was to strike at the same time and install a military government.”

Investigators believe the plot relied heavily on informants within the Presidential Villa and around the officials marked for elimination, underscoring what security sources describe as one of the most serious internal threats to Nigeria’s democratic order in recent years.

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