At least sixteen Nigerian military officers are reportedly being held incommunicado by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in connection with an alleged coup plot currently under investigation by the Bola Tinubu-led administration.
According to multiple security sources and relatives of the detainees, the officers have been held for over three weeks at a secret location in Abuja without formal charges, access to legal counsel, or communication with their families.
One family member revealed that the unexplained disappearance initially led them to believe their relative had been kidnapped. “It’s been 18 days since our brother was taken. We later learned through a friend in the NSA office that he was detained, but there has been no official communication from the military,” the relative said.
The DIA, which operates under the Ministry of Defence, is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering and counter-espionage, not military disciplinary actions. Security analysts and retired officers have questioned the legality of its involvement in the prolonged detention, describing it as a violation of due process.
A former military officer told Legal Observer News that such disciplinary matters should fall under the jurisdiction of the individual service branches — Army, Navy, or Air Force — not the DIA. “We want to know when the DIA started handling cases of indiscipline. It is not a military court,” he said, suggesting that the detentions may be politically motivated.
He added that the decision to detain a selective group of 16 officers across all services “defies military logic and procedure.”
Critics have also faulted the Defence Headquarters for its silence on the matter, while describing recent comments by Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, as evasive and unconvincing.
Reports indicate that the detained officers are linked to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), headed by Nuhu Ribadu. Although the military has attributed the detentions to “failures in promotion examinations and career stagnation,” credible sources insist the move is tied to suspicions of a coup plot.
Legal and human rights observers have warned that holding officers without trial, access to lawyers, or contact with their families violates constitutional and international human rights standards.
The incident has sparked growing concern among families and rights advocates who fear for the detainees’ safety and demand transparency from the military authorities.
