A serving officer of the Nigeria Police Force has been arrested and is currently in military custody over his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu, security sources have disclosed.
The officer, identified as Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim from Taraba State, was reportedly picked up in Abuja by operatives of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) following fresh intelligence obtained during the ongoing investigation into the alleged coup attempt.
Ibrahim’s arrest came after information extracted from detained military personnel linked him to the plot. He is said to be the only police officer among a group of security operatives currently being held in connection with the case.
A senior military source disclosed that the total number of suspects in custody now stands at 36, made up of personnel from the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police Force. “The officers under detention are 35 from the armed forces and one policeman. Investigations showed the policeman had a role in the failed attempt,” the source said.
Efforts to obtain official confirmation from the Nigeria Police Force were unsuccessful. Calls and messages sent to the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
The arrests are linked to an alleged conspiracy uncovered in October 2025, when military intelligence operatives began detaining senior officers across the services over accusations of plotting to unseat the civilian government. The operation reportedly followed weeks of covert surveillance and coordinated intelligence gathering.
The investigation is being overseen by the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Parker Undiandeye, who heads the DIA. The agency, established in 1986, serves as Nigeria’s principal military intelligence body, responsible for counter-intelligence, internal security threats and strategic defence assessments.
Sources at the Defence Headquarters confirmed that those arrested include officers from the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force, with at least one naval officer, Lieutenant Commander B. Abdullahi, previously identified among those in custody.
Concerns have meanwhile been raised over the condition of some detainees. It was gathered that several of the arrested officers have reportedly fallen ill while in detention, with allegations that some were moved from an initial holding facility to an underground cell in Abuja said to be poorly ventilated.
Family members of the detained officers have accused authorities of subjecting the suspects to prolonged incommunicado detention, denying them access to lawyers and relatives, and failing to inform families of transfers between detention locations.
The probe has also drawn political attention after reports emerged that military operatives visited the Abuja residence of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, in connection with the investigation. Sylva later acknowledged the visit but denied any involvement, dismissing claims linking him to the alleged plot as politically motivated.