It’s waste of time to plan coup in Nigeria – Defence minister

ABUJA — The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has declared that any attempt to stage a coup in Nigeria would be a waste of time, insisting that democracy remains far better than military rule.

The minister said officers accused of plotting to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu lacked support and would have been resisted even by ordinary Nigerians without military intervention.

Musa spoke on Friday during an interview on Arise News while commenting on the ongoing court martial of officers accused of involvement in the alleged October 2025 coup plot.

“Anybody planning any coup is wasting his time,” he said.

“Democracy is far, far better than any military regime. This is an opportunity to show the junior ones that coup doesn’t pay.”

The minister described those allegedly involved in the plot as “confused individuals” who misled junior officers into trouble.

“I just looked at the people that were involved and I shook my head, because they are just a bunch of confused individuals that exposed very junior officers who didn’t know their left from their right and now put them into this mess. It’s quite unfortunate,” he said.

According to him, even civilians would have confronted the alleged plotters if they had attempted to execute their plans.

“Even the civilians in Nigeria would have taken them down. So, I think it was just foolhardy for them to have done what they wanted to do,” he added.

Musa expressed sympathy for the junior officers facing trial, saying the military leadership always felt saddened whenever personnel found themselves in such situations.

“We always feel bad when we see our colleagues in this situation. But the good thing is that the system has a way of going about it,” he stated.

On the ongoing prosecution, the minister said due process was being followed and that the accused officers were being given fair opportunity to defend themselves.

“The investigation was very thorough. The prosecution is now ongoing, and the court martial will go as planned. We are giving them all the benefits to defend themselves.

“But the facts on the ground are very, very clear, and I can tell you that we are following all the processes. Nothing is hidden,” he said.

The minister also maintained that there was no justification for any coup plot, arguing that the armed forces had been adequately catered for under the current administration.

“They had no reason to do that. The country was going very well. The armed forces have been taken care of quite well. We’ve never had issues with our salaries.

“Efforts have been made to even increase our allowances. Our troops are doing quite well,” he added.

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