Military authorities investigating an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu have detained a managing director of a federal government agency in the South-South region over suspected links to the financing of the plan.
Security sources told TheCable that the MD allegedly transferred a “huge sum of money” to Timipre Sylva, a former minister of state for petroleum resources and ex-governor of Bayelsa state, who has been named in intelligence reports as one of the financiers of the failed coup attempt.
“The MD transferred a large sum to Sylva. Investigators believe the funds were connected to the coup plot. He’s currently being questioned on the purpose of that transaction,” a security official said.
Sylva’s Abuja residence was raided on Saturday by military operatives. During the operation, his younger brother, Paga Sylva, who serves as his special assistant on domestic affairs, and his driver were arrested.
The former minister, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was reportedly out of the country at the time of the raid. Sources said he had planned to return to Nigeria but changed his mind after learning that the alleged coup leaders had been apprehended.
“He was preparing to return home when he heard about the arrests and decided to stay back,” another source added.
When contacted, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Markus Kangye, and Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Earlier this month, Gusau confirmed that 16 officers were detained for “breaches of military regulations and acts of indiscipline”, adding that their grievances were linked to career stagnation from repeated promotion exam failures.
However, SaharaReporters claimed the detained officers — ranging from captain to brigadier-general — were being held by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for plotting to overthrow the Tinubu administration.
“The officers were holding secret meetings to topple the government. The authorities are being diplomatic in their public statements,” the platform quoted a source as saying.
The defence headquarters has yet to issue an update on the ongoing investigation.