Renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the Nigerian military to publicly apologise to Nigerians for initially denying reports of an alleged coup plot against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The demand follows the Defence Headquarters’ (DHQ) announcement on Monday, January 26, 2026, that several military officers will face trial before a military judicial panel after an investigative board confirmed the existence of a plot to overthrow the government.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, Falana described the military’s earlier dismissal of the coup allegations as “reckless and misleading,” arguing that it undermined public trust and the rule of law.
“When the reports first surfaced, the military authorities swiftly denied them and accused those raising the alarm of spreading fake news. Now that the same authorities have confirmed the plot through their internal investigation, the least they can do is apologise to Nigerians for attempting to discredit genuine concerns,” Falana said.
He further warned that failure to apologise would reinforce perceptions of impunity within the military and erode confidence in state institutions.
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The coup plot allegations first gained traction in late December 2025 through intelligence leaks and social media reports, which the DHQ initially described as “baseless and mischievous.” The subsequent investigation, however, reportedly uncovered evidence of disloyalty among some mid-level and senior officers, leading to the arrest of several personnel and the referral of the case to a military tribunal.
The DHQ has yet to respond to Falana’s call for an apology, but sources within the military say the matter is “still under internal review.”
The development has reignited national debate on civil-military relations, transparency in security institutions, and the handling of coup rumour in a democracy still recovering from decades of military rule.
By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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