How I Was Forced To Copy Statement on ‘Coup Plot’ – Detained Soldier Reveals

A Nigerian Army corporal, Momoh Audu, has told a court martial that he was detained for months in an underground facility and pressured to copy a prepared statement linking him to an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.

Audu, who testified on September 8, 2026, said his ordeal began after he was arrested in Bida, Niger State, on October 10, 2025.

He alleged that he was first taken to an Army barracks in Bida before being moved to an undisclosed location, where he was held in an underground cell.

The soldier said he was handcuffed, leg-chained and blindfolded during his transfer and was taken away wearing only a singlet and boxer shorts.

According to him, his interrogators repeatedly questioned him about an alleged coup plot and his relationship with his brother, Colonel Alhassan Maaji.

Audu told the court that he was detained at the Bida barracks for a day before being taken away on October 11, 2025.

“The commander came to me in the guard room and told me that he was not the one looking for me,” he said.

He said a Captain Abbas later informed him that those looking for him would arrive after 5:30pm.

“From there they came by that 5:30pm on October 11, 2025. They came and picked me, leg-chained me, handcuffed me and blindfolded me,” Audu said.

He said he was driven for about three hours before arriving at an unknown location, where a man who identified himself as Captain Ukpon briefly removed his blindfold.

Audu said he was later blindfolded again and taken to another facility.

“We arrived, they removed the chains but left the blindfold. I was guided to stairs until I found myself in underground,” he said.

He said he was held in a cell and initially denied basic clothing despite complaining about the cold.

“I was brought in my boxers and singlet only. I told him that I was feeling cold. I was told to cool down,” he said.

According to him, he remained in that condition for about seven days before being given clothes and other basic items.

Audu said his interrogators began questioning him about Maaji and an alleged coup plot on October 12.

“They started asking if I knew Maaji. They said if I knew he was arrested and what I knew about the coup plot. I said I didn’t know,” he told the court.

He said the questioning continued in subsequent days, with officers insisting that he provide information.

Audu alleged that the pressure intensified when one of the officers, identified as Chimah, told him that his wife and four children had been arrested in Minna.

“Chimah said, ‘Do you know that your family were arrested in Minna. Your wife and four children,’” he said.

According to Audu, he maintained that he knew nothing about the alleged coup plot and was unaware that Maaji had been arrested.

He said he was subsequently returned to the underground facility, where he remained for about 11 days before investigators brought him a typed statement.

Audu alleged that he was instructed to copy the statement and was repeatedly reminded that his family was being detained.

He said he eventually agreed to copy it because of a promise that doing so would secure the release of his family.

“On October 21, 2025, that was the day I accepted for the sake of the release of my family,” Audu said.

“I was promised that if I copied what they wrote, my family and I would be released.”

He said his blood pressure was checked before the statement was brought to him and recorded as 190.

Audu maintained that he did not author the statement.

“I did not construct the sentence. They interviewed me. I told them I was not feeling like myself because my family were detained,” he said.

He added: “I said that they can kill me if it means my family would be released.”

According to him, he was returned to the underground cell after copying the statement and only confirmed several days later that his family had been released.

He said he spoke with his wife after receiving access to a telephone and learned that she had indeed been released.

Despite this, Audu said he remained in detention.

The corporal also accused his handlers of inadequately feeding him during his detention.

“They have not been giving me enough food. I was only fed once before I wrote the first statement,” he told the court.

He said a second statement dated February 4, 2026, was obtained under what he described as a similar process.

Audu said he was brought out with another soldier, Corporal Aliyu, for identification.

He alleged that investigators subsequently asked him to implicate Aliyu, whom they claimed had more information about Maaji.

Audu said he requested permission to call his wife to verify that his family had been released but was refused.

“I asked that a call be made to my wife. They said no need, and that they ordered for their release,” he said.

He also rejected an alleged offer to become a prosecution witness.

“They said this is the final one for the sake of myself and I would be released. And they said I could be used as prosecution witness,” he said.

Audu said he refused to give evidence against someone over matters he claimed not to know.

“I declined and said, ‘God forbid I testify for what I don’t know.’ I wrote based on the promises made to me,” he said.

He further alleged that his prolonged detention had affected his eyesight, saying he had difficulty reading after being exposed to two bright lights in the facility.

During cross-examination, Audu denied being attached to Maaji or serving as his driver.

“I am not attached to anyone. I was not a driver to anyone. I was never working with Maaji,” he said.

He explained that he occasionally drove Maaji when he was on pass and visited Abuja, but maintained that the colonel had his own driver and orderly.

“If I come on pass and branch Abuja, I can drive him. We go out sometimes. He has his own driver and orderly,” he said.

Audu also denied being in Abuja in September 2025, saying his movement was covered by an approved pass from his unit.

He said the pass lasted about three weeks, rather than two months.

“I was never in Abuja on that pass. I was not in Abuja in September,” he told the court.

The soldier said he had previously served in Minna under the 313 Artillery Regiment before his posting to Port Harcourt.

When questioned about the statement he copied, Audu said the draft remained with Captain Ukpon.

He also maintained that the clothing he wore while copying the October 21 statement was not provided by the Defence Intelligence Agency.