A serving Nigerian Army officer, Brigadier General Gabriel E. Archibong, has been held incommunicado for more than ten days following his arrest by military authorities, raising concerns over due process and internal reprisals within the armed forces.

Military sources told SaharaReporters that Archibong’s family and lawyers have been denied access since his detention. He is reportedly being held at the Army’s Special Investigation Bureau, with no formal charges disclosed.

The arrest is allegedly linked to Archibong’s frequent communications with retired Major General Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi, a former head of the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW) task force, who has publicly accused senior military and government figures of involvement in the release of terrorism financing suspects.

Sources say Archibong is accused of being “uncooperative” with military authorities. A day after his arrest, soldiers reportedly searched his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, for over three hours, seizing his phones and laptop, though no incriminating material was found.

Archibong currently serves at the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in Minna, Niger State. Military insiders fear the detention could severely damage his career and wellbeing, insisting he has committed no offence.

Several sources allege that the arrest is connected to ongoing tensions surrounding Ali-Keffi’s legal battle with the Nigerian Army, including a ₦300 billion lawsuit challenging his arrest, prolonged detention without trial, alleged torture, and compulsory retirement.

Ali-Keffi has repeatedly accused former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd.), of influencing military decisions to suppress findings from OSW investigations into terrorism financing networks. He claims all suspects arrested by his task force were later released under suspicious circumstances.

According to Ali-Keffi, OSW investigations—conducted alongside the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU)—linked several suspects to senior military officers and former top government officials, including Buratai, former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, and former Army Chief Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya. He insists his claims were based on official intelligence briefings, not speculation.

Sources within the military believe Archibong’s detention may be an attempt to determine what information Ali-Keffi still possesses as his court case proceeds.

Ali-Keffi has warned that treating efforts to demand accountability as an attack on the military institution risks further damaging the Army’s credibility, insisting that seeking justice is not the same as undermining the armed forces.