Prominent public commentator and activist, Mahdi Shehu, has challenged the Nigerian government and military authorities to speak openly on the alleged coup plot said to have been uncovered in recent weeks.
In a post on 𝕏 on Monday night, Shehu described the development as “a coup shrouded in darkness,” questioning why the identities of those allegedly involved have not been made public.
He wrote, “It has been three weeks since whispers from the vineyard started about an alleged coup. What was first explained away as a routine issue around failures in promotion exercises has now grown beyond mere speculation.”
Shehu noted that in the last two weeks, rumours about military officers being arrested for indiscipline and insubordination had intensified.
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He stated, “But within the last week, all cowardly excuses have given way to a fact that there was indeed a plan to overthrow the government.”
The activist faulted the silence of authorities, arguing that in other parts of the world, those behind failed coups are usually paraded before the public.
“World over, the culture of failed coups is for the coup plotters to be paraded in public, handcuffed, legs chained, with their ranks, state of origin, and other details made known. Subsequently, a military tribunal is set up to try them and pass judgement which is subject to appeal,” he said.
He warned that secrecy could worsen suspicion, adding, “Nothing is known about those involved. Nobody knows if they have access to legal representation or to their family members. Continuing this hide and seek will only make matters worse, create doubt, confusion, and even a leeway to call it a phantom coup.”
Shehu stressed that citizens had the right to know details of developments threatening the country’s democratic stability.
“Nigerians are entitled to know the identity of those ‘enemies of democracy’,” he stated, urging the government to “end this play in darkness, beneath-the-earth power games, and treachery.”
So far, the Defence Headquarters has denied reports linking recent arrests of officers to a coup attempt.
In a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, the military maintained that the detention of some officers was connected to internal disciplinary issues, not a coup.