The African Democratic Congress has accused the Federal Government of using reports of an alleged coup attempt to distract the public from governance challenges and intimidate opposition members.
The party’s National Spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement posted on X on Monday, said that although the ADC remained strongly opposed to any move to undermine Nigeria’s constitutional order, it was troubled by what it referred to as “conflicting signals” from government officials regarding the alleged coup plot.
“We are particularly concerned about the conflicting signals coming from government sources, especially as the Defence Headquarters has publicly denied ever mentioning a coup plot, despite widespread media reports to the contrary.
“Such inconsistency raises serious fears that the coup narrative may have been politically engineered,” Abdullahi said.
According to the ADC, the government’s continued silence had allowed the speculation to grow, warning that the situation could serve as an excuse for a political clampdown.
“What is clear, however, is that the government is exploiting the coup story to divert attention from the real issues of misgovernance in the country and to curry sympathy.
“Subsequent unattributed media reports purportedly implicating unnamed politicians in the so-called plot now provide a pretext for the government to clamp down on opposition figures or mount undue surveillance on them,” Abdullahi stated.
The party urged the Federal Government to issue a clear and definitive statement to clarify the situation, calling for transparency and restraint.
“Government must desist from weaponising national security as a pretext to silence opposition and political dissent,” the statement read.
However, the Federal Government has reiterated its trust in the Nigerian military, dismissing the reports of a coup as false and misleading.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in an interview with the media on Sunday, said the government had no reason to doubt the military’s assurance.
“The Federal Government has no reason to doubt the military on what it has said.
“The Federal Government believes that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is committed to ensuring the territorial integrity of the country and also strengthening its fight against insecurity,” Idris stated.
On Saturday, the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, dismissed a report by an online newspaper claiming that 16 detained military officers were involved in a failed coup attempt.
Gusau described the report as “intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace,” adding that the cancellation of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day parade was “purely administrative.”
He explained that the decision enabled President Bola Tinubu to attend a bilateral meeting abroad and allowed troops to continue operations against insurgency and banditry.
Declaring that “democracy is forever,” Gusau said the detained officers were undergoing a “routine internal investigation” to ensure discipline and professionalism within the armed forces.
He assured that an investigative panel had been established and that its findings would be made public.
