Some Nigerian Army personnel have 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 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.

“It’s been 18 days since those 16 officers were detained in an undisclosed location. At first, we thought our brother was kidnapped before finding out what transpired from his friend who works in the NSA office,” a family member had said.

Security analysts have questioned why the DIA, an intelligence agency under the Ministry of Defence, is spearheading the investigation instead of allowing each military service to handle its personnel internally, a move seen as “highly political.”

“If the military were truly conducting a disciplinary operation, over 10,000 cases could emerge. Why only 16 officers, and why hand them to the DIA?” one retired officer asked. “This smells of politics. There’s clearly more going on behind the scenes.”

Speculations are now rife that the alleged plot and subsequent arrests may have deeper political undertones, potentially involving some former office holders with ties to late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa State and a close ally of late Buhari, served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources between 2019 and 2023.

He was also the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the November 2023 Bayelsa election, which he lost to incumbent Governor Douye Diri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). (SaharaReporters, but headline rejigged)