- The use of unconstitutional methods to seize or control of power at the federal or states of Nigeria (they must have learned from the best strategist-PBAT)
By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja
Your Excellency, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, GCFR, Sir,
And
Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Sir,
Let me begin by stating a disclaimer: this entire write-up is a fictional satire intended as a comic relief to the harsh economic conditions in Nigeria.
Therefore, any semblance or reference to the names of either living or dead persons is merely a coincidence.
It has just been reported that some military soldiers have been arrested for involvement in an attempted coup d’etat to overthrow the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT). This is reported online at: https://saharareporters.com/2025/10/18/exclusive-nigerian-defence-intelligence-detains-brigadier-general-other-officers-over
Let me also state clearly that I am not in support of any form of coup, whether it is coup d’etat or coup by defection.
The reason is because any form of coup is a violation of Section 1(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which states in summary “that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be governed only in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. It prohibits any person or group from taking control of the government or any part of it except as outlined in the Constitution.”
However, as much as every right-thinking citizens of Nigeria condemn 100% the coup plotters, it is important to identify what is the underlying reason (s) that gave them the impetus.
Although, we are yet to receive transcripts of the interrogation conducted by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), we can hazard a guess.
It is a possible and plausible explanation that these coup plotters must have learned from the very successfully executed coup plot of PBAT that he carried out on 18th March 2025 to seize power in Rivers State.
The proclamation of a State of Emergency in Rivers State by PBAT is clearly a violation of Section 1(2) of the Nigerian Constitution and fits the definition of a coup.
In a nutshell, by that singular act, your good self-usurped the powers of both the Governor of Rivers State and the Rivers State House of Assembly by unconditional means.
You went further to utilise this coup towards your endgame of instilling fear into the hearts of Governors of some of the 36 States of Nigeria, so that out of duress they would defect to join the All Progressives Congress-APC.
In the final analysis, the series of actions can be classified as a coup by defection because your end game is to consolidate your hold on power ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Let me explain in greater details how it constitutes a coup by defection.
By virtue of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Treaty of 1993, every treaty of ECOWAS has direct and immediate application within the territory of Nigeria as self-executing treaties. ECOWAS treaties are on the same status as the Nigerian Constitution as per the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of Fawehimi vs. Abacha (2000).
One of such ECOWAS Treaties is the 2001 Treaty that prohibits the engagement of unelected officials to govern either the national or sub-national units of any ECOWAS country.
If Nigerian did not have a rubber-stamp Senate or Legislature, PBAT ought to have faced IMPEACHMENT proceedings for his violation of the said ECOWAS Treaty.
Instead with the active participation and collaboration of the Senate and the National Assembly, PBAT successfully violated Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution by using voice votes instead of the two-thirds majority votes pre-requisite requirement before proclamation of a State of Emergency in Rivers State on 20th March 2025.
Since after the declaration and lifting of the said State of Emergency in Rivers State, the Governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom and Enugu States have since defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Even though this is in itself a violation of the Nigerian Constitution which states that: “if a Governor defects to another political party he will cease to hold office in accordance with section 180(1)(d) of the Nigerian Constitution”.
In its judgment of 28th February 2025, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has provided the legal window of opportunity for legislators to defect from the political party that sponsored them into office without the consequence of losing their seat in the legislature as prescribed under Section 68(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution.
The foregoing are the details of the coup by defection that is currently on-going within Nigeria which the military soldiers have learned from and possibly tried their own variant which the dictionary defines as coup d’etat!!!
I hope that the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has informed you that, regardless of their military and unconstitutional methods, if military officers or Yele Sowore and his so-called revolution are successful, they become legitimate.
“A military coup creates a new legal order because the new regime’s validity depends on its own laws, not the previous constitution. In common law jurisdictions, cases like Republic of Fiji v Prasad recognize this by upholding the new legal order, while other precedents like R. v. Dosso in New Zealand, which validated a coup-based government, are sometimes cited for providing a legal foundation for extra-constitutional regimes. Under a new legal order, the coup makers can change laws at will, and courts function only to the extent permitted by the new regime”
On a final note, there is an eternal law, we usually reap whatever we sow, if we teach the general populace that we are like expert scientists who can tweak, twist and modify the Nigerian Constitution (like a genetically modified organism-GMO) to make it serve our own selfish endgame of consolidating our hold on power, the people, citizens are watching and learning!!!
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
18th October 2025