AfriPulse
President Bola Tinubu was said to have cancelled the 2025 Independence Day celebration over the trending failed military coup against Nigeria In a latest development, Colonel Alhassan Ma’aji allegedly masterminded the coup plot targeting key government figures for assassination, including President Tinubu The revelation emerged after multiple military officers were arrested while plotting a violent takeover, aiming to seize strategic locations across the nation Recent reports have shown that Nigeria’s democracy would have been truncated on October 1, 2025, but the coup, which was being planned by some military officers, failed. It was also reported that the development was the reason behind the cancellation of the Independence Day celebration by the presidency.
This is as the Nigerian military high command finally admitted that some top officers moved to stage a coup against President Bola Tinubu.
The failed coup plotters reportedly planned to assassinate President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and others
Photo Credit: @DHQNigeria, @officialABAT
Source: Twitter Recall that in October 2025, there were reports that some high-ranking officers in the military, ranging from captain to Brigadier-General, were arrested by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and detained over the attempt to overthrow the administration of President Tinubu. A report emerged on Monday. January 26, showing how the panel that probed the arrested and detained officers submitted its report to President Tinubu.
Details on officer leading coup plot Premium Times reported that sources disclosed that the failed coup was alleged to have been masterminded by Colonel Alhassan Ma’aji with the service number N/10668. He is a Nupe native from Niger state. He was born on March 1, 1976. He started his training on August 18, 1995 and finished on September 15, 2000.
Ma’aji was said to be a member of the infrantry corps and got promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2013 and later became a full colonel. He was the commanding officer of the 19 Battalion of the Nigerian Army based in Okitipupa in Ondo State.
He was part of the officers who carried out the Operation Crocodile Smile II in 2017, a military exercise that was conducted to address the insecurity in the Niger Delta and some parts of the Southwest. He had served at the Nigerian Army Depot and Commander of Operation Delta Safe. A member of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA)’s 47 Regular Course.
Coup: List of politicians penned for assassination Ma’aji and and some other coup plotters in the military were reportedly planning a violent takeover, in which some top government officials were marked for assassination during the period.
Earlier, the government sources disclosed that the coup plotters planned to eliminate President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima; Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Nigerian Senate and Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Also, the coup plotters plan to assassinate the Service Chiefs, Commanders, Guards Brigades and several others. At the same time, some officers had been assigned to take the full control of strategic places, including the Presidential Villa, the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) Complex, the Niger Barracks and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Failed military coup in Nigeria on October 1, 2025
Photo Credit: @HQNigerianArmy
Source: Twitter Tinubu restructures security architecture Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu sacked all the service chiefs and announced their replacement with immediate effect.
The presidency announced the development in a statement, adding that it was part of Tinubu’s effort to strengthen the national security architecture.
This came amid the rumour that some military officers are planning to oust Tinubu through a coup.
Source: Legit.ng
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