Family members of military officers detained over an alleged coup plot have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to allow the suspects to be tried in an open court.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, wives and other family members of the detained officers also requested access to the alleged coup planners.
Omoyele Sowore, activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, and Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer, attended the press conference.
BACKGROUND
In January 2026, the defence headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that there was a coup plot to overthrow Tinubu.
Samaila Uba, the DHQ Director of Defence Information, said investigations conducted in line with established military procedures found some personnel involved in a coup plot.
He said the officers would be arraigned before relevant military judicial panels.
In October 2025, the federal government announced the cancellation of the parade earlier scheduled to celebrate the country’s 65th independence anniversary on October 1.
Days later, there were reports that the cancellation of the independence anniversary event was linked to an alleged coup attempt.
However, the DHQ dismissed the reports, insisting that the cancellation had no links to the alleged coup attempt.
On October 31, TheCable reported that 16 military officers were arrested in the first week of the month over the alleged coup attempt, while two other officers were on the run.
‘WE’RE LIVING IN FEAR, UNCERTAINTY’
Speaking at the press conference on behalf of the detained officers’ families, Memuna Bashiru said the suspected coup planners have been detained for more than 160 days without being taken to an open court for trial.
Bashiru said families of the detained officers have lived in uncertainty and fear since their detention.
“We stand before you as families, wives, mothers, and relatives, whose husbands and brothers have been in detention for over 160 days without being brought before an open court of law,” she said.
“For more than five months, our families have lived with uncertainty, fear, and unanswered questions.
“Today, we are here for one simple reason: to ask that justice be done openly and in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. These past months have been deeply painful for our families.
“We have watched helplessly as narratives are presented to the public, subjecting our husbands to a media trial. At the same time, some of us have faced intimidation from the very men in uniform who swore to protect Nigerians.
“Our husbands served this country faithfully on the frontlines, risking their lives in defence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Today, their families are left with fear, uncertainty, and unanswered questions. We speak today not with anger, but with the heavy hearts of wives and mothers.”
She appealed to the president and Oluremi Tinubu, the first lady, to look at the situation with justice and compassion and examine the case with an “open mind”.
“We appeal to President Bola Tinubu, a father and grandfather, and to Her Excellency the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, a mother, grandmother and revered pastor, as leaders of this nation at this moment in time, to please look upon our situation with compassion, wisdom, courage and justice,” she said.
“We respectfully beseech you to examine and be receptive to all the facts of this highly sensitive case with an open mind.
“We ask only for what the 1999 Constitution guarantees every Nigerian: that our husbands be treated as innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law.
“The allegations against them must not be used as a tool or a scapegoat. We want due process, nothing more and nothing less.
“We respectfully ask for compassion and transparency. Grant us access to our husbands. Let us see them and know they are safe and alive.
“We respectfully request that the trials commence immediately in an open court of law visible to all Nigerians. We do not want secret proceedings or a media trial.
“If our husbands are guilty, let it be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But if they are innocent, justice demands that they be set free.”
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