Military investigators have arrested a Managing Director of a Federal Government agency in the South-South region over an alleged plan to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.
Sources said that the MD, whose name has not been disclosed, was taken in for questioning after allegedly transferring a substantial amount of money to the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.
Investigators believe the money was meant to support a group accused of planning to remove the government by force.
Sylva, a former Governor of Bayelsa State, is said to have facilitated the appointment of the Managing Director.
A senior military officer said, “The MD transferred a huge amount of money to Sylva. We are investigating if the transaction was connected to the coup plot. He is now being questioned about what the money was meant for.”
Security operatives also raided Sylva’s Abuja home over the weekend. During the operation, his younger brother, Paga Sylva, who works as his Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, and his driver were arrested.
The former Bayelsa governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain was said to be outside the country at the time. Sources said he had planned to return to Nigeria but changed his mind after hearing that some of the suspected coup plotters had been caught.
Efforts to reach the military spokespersons, Major-General Markus Kangye and Brigadier-General Tukur Gusau, were not successful as they did not respond to calls.
Earlier in October, Brigadier-General Gusau had said in a statement that 16 officers were arrested for indiscipline and breach of service rules. He added that their complaints were mainly about lack of promotion and career stagnation.
However, some reports claimed the detained officers were actually involved in a coup plot against the Tinubu administration. They were said to have been arrested by the Defence Intelligence Agency in different parts of the country.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the military authorities nor Chief Timipre Sylva had released an official statement on the new allegations.
