DSS Arrests Nigerian Man For Canvassing For Military Coup On Social Media
The Department of State Services (DSS) has apprehended a social media user, identified as Innocent Chukwuma, over allegations of inciting a military coup in Nigeria.
Chukwuma, who used the handle @TheAgroman on X, allegedly posted messages urging the Nigerian military to suspend the government and take control.
“A coup in Nigeria is needed. Dispose of APC, suspend the Nigerian Government, and join the AES. That is all we need now,” Chukwuma wrote. He added, “It will happen eventually. Nigerians, the military needs your support now! Only them can save this country.”
In another post, Chukwuma allegedly made derogatory remarks about President Bola Tinubu, saying, “The bastard in Aso Rock has basically sold this country to the West, and they run our intelligence apparatus. Only the military can reset this country. Support them.”
According to Zagazola Makama, a security source, Chukwuma was tracked and arrested in Oyigbo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and is currently cooperating with DSS investigators.
Meanwhile, the arrest has sparked debate on social media, with some users condemning Chukwuma’s comments as treasonable felony, while others argue it’s an attack on freedom of expression.
Constitutional lawyer, Barrister Tunde Oladipo, stated that calls for a coup are criminal under Nigerian law, constituting incitement against a democratically elected government.
SaharaReporters exclusively reported on Tuesday that some Nigerian Army personnel raided the Abuja residence of a former governor and former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, in connection with an alleged coup plot currently under investigation by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Multiple security sources had confirmed to SaharaReporters on Tuesday that the army raid occurred at Sylva’s home in the Maitama area of Abuja.
According to insiders, a “special military team” carried out the operation after intelligence linked the “former South-South governor” to secret meetings allegedly held with some of the detained military officers.
“Nigerian Army special team ransacked the home of Timipre Sylva, who is believed to have fled Nigeria,” one top source familiar with the development told SaharaReporters.
“He is the South-South former governor frequently mentioned in the case. His brother, named Paga, was picked up during the raid. The operation also extended to his Bayelsa residence.”
Another security insider said that while no official statement had been issued regarding the raid, the action was “not random” but “a direct response to intelligence linking certain political figures to the alleged plotters.”
This development comes amid growing tension within the armed forces following SaharaReporters’ exclusive report that at least 16 senior military officers had been detained incommunicado by the DIA over an alleged coup plot.
The detained officers, drawn from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, have been held for over three weeks in an undisclosed Abuja facility under what sources described as “unusual and suspicious conditions.”
Family members told SaharaReporters they initially believed their relatives had been kidnapped, as there was no official communication from the military regarding their arrests.