The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned the federal government not to exploit the recent rumours of an alleged coup plot as a weapon against opposition figures or dissenting voices in the country.
The party urged the authorities to provide clear information on the supposed coup, saying Nigerians deserve transparency, not fear or manipulation.
In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said it viewed any threat to Nigeria’s democratic order with the utmost seriousness but was equally alarmed by the possibility of political misuse of national security narratives.
Abdullahi said the party had been monitoring reports of the alleged coup involving some arrested military officers and media claims that a former southern governor was being investigated for allegedly funding them.
He said while the ADC strongly opposed any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s constitutional order, it was also “concerned about the potential misuse of such allegations to justify political witch-hunts, suppress dissent, or manipulate public sentiment.”
Government Silence Deepens Suspicion
The ADC questioned the conflicting messages coming from official quarters, noting that the Defence Headquarters had publicly denied ever mentioning a coup plot, despite extensive media coverage suggesting otherwise.
Abdullahi said such inconsistency “raises serious fears that the coup narrative may have been politically engineered.”
He criticised the federal government’s continued silence, arguing that it allowed the rumours to fester.
“The ADC is particularly concerned that the federal government has not deemed it fit to make a categorical statement on this very serious matter, especially after the military authorities had repeatedly denied that there was such a threat. By keeping quiet, the government has deliberately allowed the coup story to fester for whatever reason.”
The party alleged that the government appeared to be using the coup story as a smokescreen to divert public attention from deep-seated governance failures and to win sympathy.
It warned that the subsequent unnamed reports linking opposition politicians to the so-called plot were part of a broader plan to “clamp down on dissenting figures or mount undue surveillance on them.”
ADC: Desperation Must Not Endanger Democracy
The ADC accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being desperate to control political narratives ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We understand that the APC government is desperate,” Abdullahi said. “But such desperation must never be allowed to endanger our democracy or undermine the democratic rights of citizens.”
He urged the government to immediately clarify the true nature of the alleged coup and, if any threat to national security truly exists, to brief the nation transparently.
The ADC cautioned that weaponising national security to silence critics would only erode public trust and threaten Nigeria’s fragile democracy.
“The ADC is resolute in its opposition to dictatorship of any form, whether military dictatorship or its civilian variant,” the statement continued.
“We therefore support any legitimate action that may be taken in defence of our constitution and our democracy. In the same vein, we oppose any ploy by the government to intimidate legitimate voices under the guise of national security.”
As the controversy deepens, many Nigerians now ask: Is the alleged coup story a genuine security issue — or a political script written to manipulate the nation’s mood?
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