The names and service details of the 16 military officers being questioned over the alleged plot to overthrow the Federal Government have emerged.
According to multiple military sources, the suspects include one brigadier general, one colonel, four lieutenant colonels, five majors, two captains, one lieutenant, a naval lieutenant commander, and an air force squadron leader.
The officers are: Brigadier General Musa Abubakar Sadiq, Colonel M.A. Ma’aji, Lieutenant Colonel S. Bappah, Lieutenant Colonel A.A. Hayatu, Lieutenant Colonel P. Dangnap, Lieutenant Colonel M. Almakura, Major A.J. Ibrahim, Major M.M. Jiddah, Major M.A. Usman, Major D. Yusuf, Major I. Dauda, Captain Ibrahim Bello, Captain A.A. Yusuf, Lieutenant S.S. Felix, Lieutenant Commander D.B. Abdullahi, and Squadron Leader S.B. Adamu.
Sources said that twelve of the fourteen army officers belong to the Infantry Corps, while others serve in the Signals and Ordnance Corps.
Reports earlier indicated that the suspects were arrested after an intelligence operation revealed a plot linked to dissatisfaction over the cancellation of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day celebration.
However, the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, denied that the detention of the officers was related to a coup attempt.
Military insiders disclosed that the investigators are working with the EFCC and NFIU to trace the financial flows connected to the alleged plot. The agencies are expected to determine how much money was moved and who benefitted from the transfers.
Meanwhile, Security operatives have raided the Abuja residence of former Bayelsa State Governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged coup plot.
Sources said the operatives took away the former governor’s younger brother, Paga, and his driver during the operation.
Sylva’s spokesman, Chief Julius Bokoru, confirmed the raid in a statement on Wednesday. He said the former governor and his wife were out of the country at the time of the incident.
He, however, denied that his principal had any link with the alleged coup attempt, alleging that some political opponents were behind efforts to implicate him.
Sylva, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, has yet to issue a formal statement beyond his spokesperson’s denial.
