The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has refuted claims that he was arrested over an alleged coup plot.

In a statement on Thursday, Ogbuku clarified that he was attending a Commission meeting in Port Harcourt with Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, and Directors. The meeting, aired live on Arise TV, focused on developing frameworks to drive the future of the Niger Delta.

The clarification follows media reports suggesting Ogbuku’s involvement in a purported coup attempt.

Earlier, APC chieftain Yekini Nabena also dismissed the arrest claims, calling them “fabricated” and urging the public to disregard them.

“We woke up yesterday to see some fabricated social media reports that Dr. Sam Ogbuku was arrested. And we asked, for what? The managing director spoke live at an ongoing agricultural summit in Port Harcourt, broadcast on two national television channels. We hope this will put the purveyors of fake news to shame,” Nabena said.

Meanwhile, former Bayelsa State governor and ex-Nigerian minister Timipre Sylva confirmed that his Abuja residence was raided on Wednesday, but denied any involvement in the alleged coup plot.

Rumours of a coup attempt have circulated in Nigeria over the past week. Last Friday, President Bola Tinubu reshuffled the country’s service chiefs, while both the military and the government have repeatedly dismissed the alleged plot as false.

---