The Minister of Defence, retired General Christopher Musa, has revealed that he was one of the targets in an alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu.
Musa said officers accused of plotting to overthrow the government planned to arrest him and shoot him if he resisted.
“I was also a target. I was supposed to be arrested, and if I refused, I was supposed to be shot,” he said.
The Defence Minister made the disclosure on Sunday during an interview on Sunday Politics, a programme aired on Channels Television.
His comments came days after the military announced that 16 officers arrested in October 2025 would face trial over an alleged coup plot.
Musa, a former Chief of Defence Staff, said he later became aware that his name was listed among those marked by the plotters.
“But that’s the job,” he said, adding that those who engage in coups are usually prepared for the consequences.
“And anybody who goes into coup zeroes his mind because you know, you succeed—good; you don’t succeed but whatever consequences come, you’re ready for it,” he stated.
Describing the alleged plotters, Musa said, “I think these guys were just a bunch of very unserious individuals that really don’t know.”
“If you look at the calibre of the individuals, I don’t know what got into their heads to think they could take on the armed forces like that,” he added.
He said Nigerians themselves would have resisted any attempt to overthrow the government.
“Even without the armed forces, Nigerians would have stood against them. Remember, Nigerians have fought against military rule for quite some time,” Musa said.
The military had earlier announced the arrest of 16 officers in October over what it described as acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations.
However, authorities later said investigations linked some of the officers to attempts to overthrow the government, describing the conduct as contrary to the ethics of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, said officers found to have cases to answer would be tried before a military judicial panel.
He said the process would follow the Armed Forces Act and relevant service regulations, stressing that it was aimed at accountability while ensuring fairness and due process.
