At least 16 Nigerian military officers are being detained incommunicado by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja over an alleged coup plot, multiple family members and military sources told SaharaReporters.
Relatives of the detained officers said they had been held for over three weeks in undisclosed locations under what they described as “unusual and suspicious conditions.”
A family member told SaharaReporters, “It’s been 18 days since those 16 officers were detained in an undisclosed location. At first, we thought our brother was kidnapped before finding out what transpired from his friend who works in the NSA office. No official explanation from the military till date. None of the families has been allowed to visit or even call them. Everyone is scared about their present condition.”
The DIA, which operates under the Ministry of Defence, is typically tasked with intelligence and counter-espionage. The decision to detain officers instead of handing them over to their service authorities has triggered concerns about legality and due process.
A former officer and security expert argued the detention violated standard procedure, “In the military, if an army officer offends, he is to be charged by the Nigerian Army directly wherever his unit is. The same applies to the Navy and Air Force. When did the DIA start handling cases of indiscipline? When did it become a military court?”
The expert suggested the detentions may be politically motivated, questioning why only 16 officers across the three services were singled out.
He further stated, “If they are really conducting a disciplinary sweep, over 10,000 cases could easily surface. Why pick only 16 officers and hand them over to the DIA? This doesn’t follow standard military procedure.”
The expert condemned the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, for failing to provide clarity.
He said, “I just realised that the press men who interviewed the DDI lacked professionalism in their questions. Only two questions about why the officers are with the DIA and why are they being denied access to family members would have been good for Brigadier General Gusau.”