Details are emerging about the identities of at least 16 Nigerian military officers currently in detention over an alleged coup plot.
According to a report obtained by this newspaper, 14 of the 16 officers are from the Nigerian Army, while the remaining two are from the Navy and Air Force.
Among the Army officers are a brigadier general, a colonel, four lieutenant colonels, five majors, two captains, and a lieutenant. The two others include a Navy Lieutenant Commander, the naval equivalent of an Army major, and an Air Force Squadron Leader, also equivalent to an Army major.
Further information from sources indicates that 12 of the 14 Army officers are from the Infantry Corps, the Army’s combat arm primarily responsible for ground combat operations.
One officer serves in the Signals Corps, which manages military communications, while another is from the Ordnance Corps, responsible for procurement, storage, and maintenance of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and other military equipment.
The Army suspects are largely members of the 56th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), which trained between 27 September 2004 and 4 October 2008.
Six members of this course—four lieutenant colonels and two majors—are among the first batch of those arrested.
Other detained Army officers come from NDA courses 44, 47, 59, and 60, as well as Short Service Commission Courses 38 and 43. The course affiliations of two Army officers, along with those of the naval and air force personnel, could not be immediately confirmed.
Sources further disclosed that 15 of the 16 detained officers hail from Nigeria’s North-central, North-east, and North-west geopolitical zones. The only exception is the most junior officer, a lieutenant from the South-west.
According to earlier reports, the Nigerian military had begun investigating a foiled coup plot involving top officers arrested in late September.
The plotters planned to assassinate President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, among others.
Weeks after the alleged coup plot was foiled, President Tinubu appointed new service chiefs, which surprised many Nigerians.
Although the military initially arrested 16 officers, insiders say the number of suspects has grown over time.