Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A deepening crisis is unfolding within Nigeria’s military establishment as exclusive sources reveal that officers detained over an alleged coup plot against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are being held in a clandestine underground facility, where they are reportedly subjected to radiation jamming devices that have caused severe hearing loss and memory impairment. The revelation, which has sent shockwaves through the security establishment, paints a harrowing picture of the conditions faced by at least 35 military personnel who have been in custody since October 2025, with families and rights advocates raising urgent alarms over what they describe as torture and inhumane treatment.
The alleged coup plot first came to light in October 2025, when the Defence Intelligence Agency arrested several senior military officers over what was initially described as acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations. At the time, the military high command dismissed rumours of an attempted coup, but subsequent investigations uncovered a structured conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the democratically elected government. The plot, according to intelligence reports, was coordinated by an Army Colonel whose identity has been withheld, with plans that allegedly included targeting the President, Vice President, key ministers, and strategic installations across the capital. The ringleaders were reportedly disgruntled over being passed over for promotions and dissatisfied with conditions within the armed forces.
Military sources have now disclosed that the detained officers, initially held at the Defence Intelligence Agency headquarters in Abuja, were later transferred to a dark, underground military detention facility buried approximately thirty feet beneath the surface. It is within this secretive location that sources claim radiation jamming technology has been deployed, exposing the detainees to continuous electromagnetic fields that have allegedly caused irreversible damage. “About five of them are critically sick and two of them collapsed last week. Till now, some of them are keeping mum,” a military source told Sahara Reporters. The same source alleged that one of the detained officers was not directly involved in the alleged plot but was being punished for having prior knowledge without alerting authorities.
The health implications have been devastating. Relatives and military insiders report that several detainees are now suffering from profound hearing loss and significant memory problems, conditions they attribute directly to the radiation exposure. Wives of the detained officers have come forward with desperate pleas, claiming they have been kept in complete darkness about the whereabouts of their loved ones for months. “We have been denied access to them since their arrest. We don’t even know where they were moved to,” a family member lamented. One of the wives revealed that families were considering staging a protest at the DIA facility in Abuja to demand information. “About 15 of us want to go there and ask if our husbands are still alive,” she said, adding that families had been denied access to lawyers and that the officers’ ATM cards were confiscated, leaving dependants unable to meet basic needs.
The official narrative from the Defence Headquarters has been fraught with contradictions. In a statement issued on Monday, the military high command insisted that only sixteen officers were arrested and investigated over acts of indiscipline. The statement, titled “Update on Disciplinary Cases Involving Sixteen Officers Investigated for Indiscipline, Breach of Service Regulations” and signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, maintained that those indicted would be arraigned before military judicial panels. However, top military sources have firmly contradicted this claim, asserting that the total number of personnel in detention is thirty-five, comprising officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, alongside ten non-commissioned officers. According to these sources, thirty-three of those detained are from the northern part of the country and the Federal Capital Territory, with only two southerners among the group. “The Defence Headquarters keeps deceiving Nigerians. The total number of officers under detention is 35 – Army, Navy and Air Force. Why keep releasing statements claiming only 16?” one source alleged.
The political dimensions of the case have also drawn significant attention. Military operatives reportedly raided the Abuja residence of former Bayelsa State Governor and former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, following intelligence reports linking him to meetings with some of the detained officers. Sylva has since confirmed the raid but vehemently denied any involvement in the alleged coup plot. He is now reportedly among those being sought by prosecutors, with a Federal High Court ordering the detention of six suspects, including a retired Major General, a retired Navy Captain, a serving police inspector, and an Islamic cleric. The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, is personally leading the prosecution team on thirteen-count charges.
Defence Minister, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), has dismissed the alleged plotters as “a bunch of confused junior officers who didn’t know their left from right”. Speaking during an Arise TV interview, Musa insisted that the officers had no reason to engage in such actions, stating that the country was progressing well and that the armed forces were being adequately cared for. He confirmed that he was among those who identified the coup and served on the investigation committee. However, his remarks have done little to quell growing unease among Tinubu’s top team regarding the scale of military unhappiness and the failure to address insecurity in Nigeria’s northern states and middle belt.
The military has since inaugurated a general court martial to try thirty-six serving personnel over the alleged coup plot, with proceedings conducted at the Guards Brigade Scorpion Mess in Asokoro, Abuja, under tight security. The Defence Headquarters has promised that the proceedings will be conducted with the highest standards of fairness and impartiality. Yet, allegations persist that some of the arrested officers were forced to admit involvement under duress and that others were recalled from overseas courses specifically to be detained. Calls to Major General Uba for clarification have gone unanswered.
As the nation grapples with these revelations, the plight of the detained officers and their families continues to raise profound questions about due process, human rights, and the rule of law within Nigeria’s security apparatus. The underground detention facility, the alleged use of radiation technology, and the severe health consequences reported by sources paint a disturbing picture that demands urgent independent investigation. For now, the families wait in agonising uncertainty, their cries for justice echoing through the corridors of power as the court martial prepares to determine the fate of those accused of plotting against the state.
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