New details have emerged linking a Nigerian Air Force officer to a chilling assassination plot targeting National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as part of the recently foiled coup attempt against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to TheCable, Squadron Leader S. B. Adamu, an Air Force officer with service number NAF/3481 from Jigawa State, was reportedly detailed to kill the NSA before the coup plot was uncovered.
Adamu was said to have been posted to the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) — a programme coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) — just four weeks before the alleged coup plan was foiled.
Contrary to widespread reports suggesting that several detained officers were attached to the ONSA, sources confirmed that Adamu was the only officer directly linked to the office through the NCTC.
“The NCTC is one of the programmes under the coordination of the ONSA,” a source familiar with the investigation explained.
Military insiders told TheCable that when Major General Adamu Garba Laka, the National Coordinator of the NCTC, had earlier requested the posting of a specific officer to the centre in August 2025, his request was surprisingly turned down. Instead, Squadron Leader Adamu was sent to the post — a decision now raising questions within the defence establishment about possible infiltration of the military hierarchy by the coup conspirators.
Adamu, who belongs to the 59th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), was allegedly assigned to “take out” Ribadu, while other officers were reportedly detailed to assassinate several top government officials, sources said.
The development comes weeks after President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping shake-up of the military command structure, which saw the dismissal of two service chiefs, including Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar.
Investigators have reportedly obtained significant information from Adamu, who is said to be cooperating fully with the ongoing probe.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has not officially confirmed the alleged coup plot. In a statement following the report by Sahara Reporters, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, described the arrests and investigations as part of a “routine internal process aimed at ensuring that discipline and professionalism are maintained within the ranks.”
He added that the findings of the probe would be made public once the internal procedures are concluded.
As investigations deepen, the alleged involvement of an officer directly linked to the ONSA has intensified concerns over the depth of the conspiracy and the extent of infiltration within Nigeria’s security institutions.
