Renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has faulted the Nigerian military for what he described as misleading the public over an alleged coup plot involving some officers.
Falana spoke on Tuesday while reacting to the Defence Headquarters’ confirmation that certain officers would face trial before military judicial panels over an alleged attempt to overthrow the government.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Falana said the military owed Nigerians an apology, especially in light of its earlier denial that any coup plot existed.
“Yesterday, the military authorities ought to have apologised to Nigerians. People in authority must learn to take us seriously as a people,” he said.
“If you had made a statement three months ago that there was no coup plot and, in the course of your investigation, discovered that the matter went beyond indiscipline, you ought to have apologised to the Nigerian people.”
According to him, acknowledging the contradiction would demonstrate institutional responsibility, adding that he hoped the military would still issue a formal apology.
Falana also condemned what he described as the continued denial of basic legal rights to the detained officers, insisting that they were entitled to access their lawyers, family members and medical care.
He further questioned the plan to try the officers before a court martial, noting that allegations of plotting a coup amount to treason or treasonable felony, offences which, he argued, fall under the jurisdiction of regular courts.
“A court martial is only applicable if the issue is purely one of internal misconduct,” Falana said, stressing that serious criminal allegations must be handled by a federal or state high court.
The SAN disclosed that as many as 42 people had been arrested in connection with the alleged plot and urged authorities to immediately release anyone who had not been formally charged.
On Monday, the Defence Headquarters admitted that investigations conducted in line with military procedures uncovered the involvement of some personnel in an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Samaila Uba, said officers found to have cases to answer would be arraigned before appropriate military judicial panels.
The controversy first surfaced in early October 2025 after the Federal Government cancelled Nigeria’s Independence Day parade scheduled for October 1 to mark the country’s 65th anniversary.
Although the Defence Headquarters initially denied that the cancellation was linked to any coup attempt, reports later emerged that 16 military officers were arrested in the first week of the month, while two others were said to be at large.
