In early 1997, reports emerged that General Oladipo Diya, who was then the Vice President of Nigeria, and some dissident military officers were involved in a plot to overthrow the government of General Sani Abacha. The alleged coup plot was uncovered by loyalist forces within the military.
Following the discovery of the alleged coup plot, General Oladipo Diya and several other high-ranking military officers were arrested and detained. They were subsequently charged with treason. After a trial, General Oladipo Diya and the others accused were convicted of treason and sentenced to death by a military tribunal. However, on July 09, 1998, about two months after the sudden death of general Sanni Abacha and the selection of general Abdulsalam Abubakar as the new head of state and governor in June 1998, the Provisional Ruling Council headed by General Abdulsalam Abubakar commuted the death sentences of General Diya and five other men to life imprisonment.
On March 12, 2013,General Oladipo Diya and some others were eventually pardoned by the then President, Goodluck Jonathan. Diya subsequently retired from active military service and had remained relatively out of the public eye until his death on March 26, 2023.