FactCheck: SaharaReporters Exclusive Report That Presidential Guards Brigades are Placed on High Alert Over Suspicions of Coup Plot in Nigeria is Fake News

By Mustapha Lawal

Claim

SaharaReporters claimed in its exclusive report that presidential guards brigades are placed on high alert over suspicions of a coup plot in Nigeria. 

The claim post as of the time of this report has over 586,000 views,  1,372 reposts, 657 quoted reposts, 3,416 likes and 235 bookmarks. The claim report is also seen to be spreading on different blogging platforms including Nairaland, Gistcore Media, social media users (@Sugarbelly on X) among others.

Verdict

False! The claim has been refuted by a statement signed by the Brigade Gen. Tukur Gusau, acting director of defence information, DHQ and debunked by the office of the special assistant (SA) on social media to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Nigerian Army who said the report of is “fake news” via their official X accounts.

Full Text

The popular news platform SaharaReporters claimed in its exclusive report published on Sunday, 25th February that the presidential guards brigade has been placed on high alert over suspicions of a coup plot in Nigeria.

The report published on its official website and shared across its social media platforms was written with under the title “Presidential Guards Brigade Placed On High Alert Over Suspicions Of Coup Plot In Nigeria; Key Brigades Under Watch As Commander Holds Emergency Meetings With Tinubu, Gbajabiamila”.

The report follows the warning issued by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, that people calling for a coup over the current economic hardship in Nigeria should desist from such and insisted that having a military coup in the country was not an option.

According to Daily Trust the defense chief said the military would protect Nigeria’s democracy with all it has got. “Whoever is making that call (coup) does not love Nigeria. We want to make it very clear that the armed forces of Nigeria are here to protect democracy,” he reportedly said at the division headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital while inaugurating the main entrance of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, and officers transit accommodation.

SaharaReporters reported to have exclusively learnt about this from an unnamed Top presidency source. The report further claimed that the suspicions prompted emergency meetings involving the Commander of the Presidential Guards Brigade, Col. Adebisi Onasanya, President Bola Tinubu and the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Recall that there have been protests against hardship, rising inflation and high cost of living in several parts of the country following some economic policies of President Tinubu’s administration. For instance, there have been protests in Kano, Ogun, Niger, Sokoto, Oyo and Osun states to express their displeasure with the unprecedented level of hunger in the land.

The Nigeria Labour Congress had also announced a nationwide protest scheduled for February 27 and 28, to kick against the economic challenges facing Nigerians after a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Nigerian Government regarding the widespread hardship. However, this is not without the kickback and warning of security operatives (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,  Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

Also, it is pertinent to recall that Nigeria, had a long history of coups following independence in 1960, with eight coup attempts — six of them successful. However, since 1999, the country has transferred power through democratic elections and helped usher in greater stability in West Africa and the continent as a whole.

According to a special report by VOA, countries experiencing ongoing terrorism campaigns and insurgency are also disproportionately more likely to see coups, as well as those nations whose leaders lack legitimacy in the eyes of their citizens or armed forces.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, Out of at least 242 successful military coups that have occurred globally since 1950, Africa accounts for the largest number at 106. Out of 54 countries on the African continent, 45 have had at least one coup attempt since 1950, according to data collected by Powell and Thyne. Narrowing the focus to only those countries that have experienced a successful takeover — one in which perpetrators hold power for at least seven days — that number drops to 37, or about two-thirds of nations on the continent.

Verification

FactCheckAfrica verified the claim by conducting a keyword search on Google and found no related reportage of such from any reputable platform.

Also, FactCheckAfrica came across two posts to debunk the claim on the official account of the Nigerian Army on X (formerly Twitter). The first which is a screenshot of the claim from the twitter post of the SaharaReporters with a crossed marked inscription of “Fake News”.

The other post on the Nigerian Army page is a quoted repost of the claim with “Fake News”. Also another account with the handle (@dolusegun) and account name The Office of the SA on social media to PBAT also debunked the claim with his post, while also calling for media platforms to maintain a higher standard of information dissemination. He  wrote on X with a screengrab of the story: “Once more, media outlets must strive for higher standards beyond disseminating false information. “This is absolutely fake news!”

Furthermore, FactCheckAfrica found a statement of the Defence Headquarters refuting the claim, it was signed by Brigadier General TUKUR GUSAU, the Acting Director of Defence Information on 25th February 2024. The statement titled “DHQ REFUTES ALLEGATION OF GUARDS BRIGADE PLACED ON HIGH ALERT OVER SUSPICION OF COUP PLOT IN NIGERIA” noted that the agency’s attention was drawn to a malicious and unfounded article published online by Sahara Reporters on 25  February 2024 claiming that the Guards Brigade has been put on high alert following unusual movements, leading to suspicion of a coup plot in Nigeria.

The Defence Headquarters stated categorically in the statement that the allegation is totally false and that the Guards Brigade has always been high due to the nature of its tasks. The statement released reads “For the avoidance of doubt, the Guards Brigade has been statutorily assigned the responsibility of protecting the seat of power (The Presidency) and by extension the Federal Capital Territory and its environs.  Hence, it is to be noted that the Guards Brigade has always been on high alert in order to effectively execute its assigned tasks”.

Furthermore, the Defence Headquarters ended the statement with a call on all relevant security agencies to immediately take appropriate action against the Sahara Reporters for this unpatriotic action.  While also stating that, the Defence Headquarters will seek legal redress on the issue which has the ulterior motive of creating unnecessary tension in the country.

Conclusion

SaharaReporters exclusive report that presidential guards brigades are placed on high alert over suspicions of coup plot in Nigeria is fake news. The claim was refuted by an official statement released by the Defence Headquarters, signed by the Acting director of defence information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau and further debunked by the office of the special assistant (SA) on social media to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Nigerian Army who said the report of is “fake news” on their official X accounts.