The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has intensified investigations into a suspected coup plot with alleged financial links to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), following the detention of 16 military officers earlier this month.
Multiple security sources confirmed to IDNN that ₦45 billion in questionable transactions from NDDC accounts were flagged and traced to individuals connected to the detained officers.
Top NDDC executives were reportedly interrogated this week in Abuja. Officials familiar with the inquiry described the development as “a broader intelligence-based inquiry into the movement of public funds.”
The trail allegedly connects a shoreline project contract worth ₦45 billion, awarded to a former South-South governor, part of which reportedly reached accounts linked to the suspects.
“Since the news broke about the interrogation of the top shots, the atmosphere here has been uneasy,” one NDDC insider said. “Directors are avoiding external communication.”
Former Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva, whose Abuja home was raided by DIA operatives, has denied any role in subversive activity.
“This is the handiwork of desperate politicians eyeing 2027,” said Sylva’s media aide, Julius Bokoru.
The Defence Headquarters maintains that the detained officers are being questioned for professional misconduct, not treason.
Corruption Meets Paranoia
Analysts warn the case underscores Nigeria’s vulnerability to financial-political entanglement inside critical development institutions.
Impact Snapshot
- ₦45bn traced through NDDC-linked contracts under forensic scrutiny.
- DIA tightens asset-tracking cooperation with CBN and EFCC.
- Political aftershocks spread through South-South elite networks.
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.
