A Nigerian Navy Lieutenant Commander standing trial over an alleged coup plot has admitted sending a WhatsApp message mocking President Bola Tinubu after the cancellation of the 1 October Independence Day parade, describing the President as “scared.”
The officer, 38-year-old Bayawo Abdullahi from Kogi State, made the admission in a statement presented as part of the ongoing trial over the alleged 2025 coup plot against the Tinubu administration.
Abdullahi acknowledged sending the message to the alleged leader of the plot, Nigerian Army Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji, shortly after the annual Independence Day parade was cancelled.
According to the statement, Abdullahi wrote, “The man has cancelled the parade; the bagger is scared.”
The alleged coup plot was uncovered in September 2025, leading to the arrest of about 40 suspects, including serving and retired military officers, a police officer and civilians. While serving military personnel are facing a General Court-Martial, the civilians and retired officers are being prosecuted before a civil court.
The cancellation of the Independence Day parade came shortly after security agencies uncovered the alleged coup plot.
Although many linked the decision to the security threat, the Defence Headquarters had explained at the time that the parade was cancelled because President Tinubu needed to attend “a strategic bilateral meeting outside the country.”
The cancellation also coincided with the day Colonel Ma’aji was arrested.
Abdullahi told investigators that his message reflected only his personal opinion and was based on what he believed was the President’s history of not attending Independence Day parades.
“I just said this phrase because of the history of the president not attending the parade,” he said.
The naval officer, however, admitted that sending the message amounted to misconduct and accepted responsibility for his actions.
“I accept that my actions have threatened the national security of Nigeria and are also disloyal to the president,” he stated.
He denied making the remark because he knew the alleged coup plotters had planned to execute their operation on Independence Day.
“I just said this out of ignorance, and I can state categorically that I was not aware that the October 1 parade was to be the execution date,” he said. “Col Ma’aji did not inform me. That probably would have been discussed during their subsequent meetings, which I did not attend.”
Abdullahi also spoke about his frustrations within the military, saying repeated setbacks in his promotion contributed to his grievances. He explained that he was not promoted alongside his coursemates in 2018 following disciplinary issues involving some officers.
“I was not promoted alongside my coursemates. When it was time for our promotion, a case arose in Apapa, and some of us were released, while those who were supposed to be promoted that year missed out because we received letters of displeasure,” he said.
He added, “After I was denied promotion, I was still posted to Maiduguri. Then again, at Jaji, we were withdrawn from the Senior Course because we were accused of examination.”
Despite maintaining contact with Colonel Ma’aji, Abdullahi said he eventually lost confidence in the alleged coup plan because he believed its leader lacked the logistics and resources needed to carry it out.
“I was not really into his plans and what and how he intends to do that,” he said, adding that his greatest regret was failing to report what he knew because he did not know who to approach.
The officer also urged the government to improve the welfare of military personnel, address delays in promotions, reduce the burden of school fees in military welfare schools, tackle the country’s economic hardship and hunger, and provide affordable housing opportunities for members of the armed forces to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
