Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has disclosed that he was among top Nigerians marked to be killed by some military officers who were recently accused of plotting a coup to take over the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The retired Army General said the coup plotters had directed that he be shot if he resisted arrest when the coup was being carried out.
Gen Musa spoke on Sunday, on Channels Television flagship politics programme, Sunday Politics, saying the coup plotters ordered that he be ‘shot’ if he did anything funny.
His remark comes after the federal government said some officers and other top Nigerians who allegedly plotted a coup to oust President Tinubu last year have been arrested and will soon be tried.
Recall that the government had earlier debunked the coup claims.
One of the alleged coup sponsors is a former Governor of Bayela stat, Timipre Silva, who is currently out to the country, the former governor has denied the allegation.
According to the General, he assisted the security agencies in ensuring that the military officers, who allegedly took part in the coup were arrested, saying the officers misread the reality in the country that military coup is no longer popular in the country, describing the officers as “misguided individuals”.
“I was also a target, I am sure you know. I was supposed to be arrested, and if I refused, I was supposed to be shot,” Gen Musa said.
“But that’s the job. Anybody who goes into coup zeroes his mind because he knows if he succeeds, good.
”If he doesn’t succeed, whatever consequences come, you are ready for it.
“But again, I think these guys were just a bunch of very unserious individuals that I really don’t know. If you look at the calibre of the individuals, I really don’t know what got into their heads to think that they could take on the armed forces like that.
“What I even said was that even Nigerians would have fought them. Even without the armed forces, Nigerians would have stood against them. Remember how Nigerians fought against the military rule for quite some time. And that’s why Mr. President has always been one of them.
“So now, for them to think they could just wake up one morning and do that in Nigeria, I think something went wrong in there. They need to reset their brains.”
The Defence Headquarters had last Monday disclosed that military officers indicted for plotting to overthrow the government, will be arraigned before an appropriate military judicial panel.
the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, made the remark in a statement, saying a comprehensive investigation had now been concluded in accordance with established military procedures, and the report had been forwarded to the appropriate superior authority.
According to Uba, the findings identified several officers with cases to answer over allegations of plotting to overthrow the government, a conduct he described as inconsistent with the ethics, values, and professional standards of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
The investigation report, he stated, has now been forwarded to the appropriate superior authority.
The statement partly read, “The Defence Headquarters issued a press statement in October 2025 regarding the arrest of sixteen officers over acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to inform the general public that investigations into the matter have been concluded and the report forwarded to the appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.
“The comprehensive investigation process, conducted in accordance with established military procedures, has carefully examined all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel. The findings have identified a number of officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government, which is inconsistent with the ethics, values, and professional standards required of members of the AFN. “
In October 2025, intelligence reports indicated unusual activity around Aso Villa, Nigeria’s Presidency, prompting security agencies to move into action. The government, however, denied that there was any coup plot at the time.
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