Military intelligence officials are reportedly interrogating the Managing Director of a Federal Government agency in the South-South over an alleged financial link to a plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to multiple security sources, the agency head was arrested for allegedly transferring a substantial amount of money to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who has been named in preliminary intelligence reports as one of the suspected financiers of the purported coup attempt.
Investigators are said to be probing whether the funds were intended to bankroll activities connected to the alleged plot.
“The MD (name withheld) transferred a huge sum of money to Sylva. Investigators are working on the theory that the transfer was related to the coup. He’s now being questioned about the purpose of the payment,” one intelligence officer confirmed.
Sources disclosed that Sylva’s Abuja residence was raided by military investigators over the weekend. During the operation, security operatives reportedly arrested his younger brother and Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Paga Sylva, along with his driver.
The former Bayelsa State governor, who currently serves as a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was said to be outside the country at the time of the raid.
Insiders revealed that Sylva had planned to return to Nigeria but changed his travel plans after learning that several military officers allegedly involved in the plot had been apprehended.
“When he got wind of the arrests, he decided to stay back abroad,” a source said.
Efforts to reach the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Markus Kangye, and the Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, for comments were unsuccessful as calls to their phones were not returned.
Earlier this month, Brig.-Gen. Gusau had issued a statement acknowledging the detention of 16 military officers over “acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations.”
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to inform the public that a routine military exercise has resulted in the arrest of sixteen officers over issues of indiscipline and breach of service regulations. Investigations revealed that their grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation due to repeated failure in promotion examinations,” the statement read in part.
However, online platform SaharaReporters alleged that the detained officers—ranging from Captains to Brigadier Generals—were in fact arrested by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for allegedly plotting to topple the current government.
According to the platform, the officers were picked up in coordinated operations across various parts of the country.
“The 16 officers were planning a coup. The military authorities were just being diplomatic in their statement. They have been holding secret meetings on how to overthrow the President and other top officials,” the outlet quoted a security source as saying.
Neither the Presidency nor the Defence Headquarters has issued an official statement addressing the latest allegations linking Sylva or the unnamed government MD to the purported coup plot.
Source: Punch Newspaper
