The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has confirmed it was aware of the detention of its member, Stanley Amandi, but insisted it had no knowledge of the allegations linking him to a plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.

Amandi, a former chairman of the AGN’s Enugu state chapter, was reportedly arrested last September. Reports resurfaced on Friday suggesting he was implicated in a plot to topple the federal government, a claim that caught the guild by surprise.

According to TheCable, AGN outgoing president Emeka Rollas and his successor, Abubakar Yakubu, acknowledged prior awareness of the detention but said they only learned of the alleged coup involvement from recent media reports.

Yakubu explained that the Amandi family had alerted the guild about his arrest last year. “We thought it was an ordinary case handled by the Department of State Services (DSS),” he said. “We tried to make some efforts on his behalf, but we did not know he was involved in a coup like that.”

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He added, “DSS said he was not in their detention; it was the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). Until the news broke, we had no idea it was linked to a coup.”

The AGN is now carefully analysing the matter before issuing an official statement. Rollas confirmed that a formal response would be released shortly.

The case has reignited debate over the sensitivity of national security issues involving civilians and the reach of intelligence agencies in Nigeria.