Nigeria's military government is poised to make a new wave of arrests following the detention of 11 senior officers accused of plotting to overthrow the country's dictator, Gen Sani Abacha (54).
A senior army source said the alleged plot extended beyond those already detained. They include Gen Abacha's deputy, three other generals and five colonels in a round-up which exposes divisions in the army and the vulnerability of Nigeria's military ruler.
After the last conspiracy to overthrow the government two years ago, arrests continued for several weeks. Secret military tribunals sentenced more than 40 people to long prison terms or death, later commuted to life imprisonment amid an international outcry.
Among those detained this time was the military leader's deputy, Gen Oladipo Diya. Gen Diya played a key role in installing Gen Abacha in power in the 1993 coup and proposed that Nigeria's military ruler run for president in next year's elections.
It may be that very issue which is behind the latest crisis. Gen Abacha says he is committed to holding a ballot for a civilian president, but has encouraged the call for himself to be a candidate. The army is known to be divided over the issue.
Although Gen Diya was publicly urging an Abacha candidacy, he and most of the officers detained on Saturday night are Yorubas from south-western Nigeria where the pressure for genuinely free elections is greatest.
Gen Abacha is known to be particularly sensitive to perceived disloyalty. His fears have been fuelled by Nigeria's international isolation since the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his fellow Ogonis, even though Washington and London declined to stiffen sanctions because of Nigeria's oil.
Nigeria is suspended from the Commonwealth, cut off from most development aid and Nigeria's military rulers have problems obtaining visas for their favourite places to shop, from London and New York to Johannesburg.
Gen Abacha even fished for an invitation to this year's Francophone summit in Vietnam in the hope of building fresh alliances. France is one of the few countries exploring closer ties with Nigeria.
This week the Nigerian government placed expensive, 20-page adverts in international news magazines in an attempt to boost the military government's image.
But for all the promises, Nigeria remains mired in a sea of economic and political troubles, while the military remains a synonym for corruption. The army decides which political parties are permitted to exist - it has legalised five - and who they may pick as their presidential candidates. As it happens, three of the parties say they will back Gen Abacha if he runs.
The first bout of regional elections proved a flop with a poor turnout. The military's opponents interpreted it as evidence of lack of faith in the government's democratisation programme.
Where Gen Abacha has been successful is in stifling public dissent. Nigeria now has more political prisoners than at any time for many years. Since the detention of the 1993 election winner, Mr Moshood Abiola, and the crackdown on protests which followed, most Nigerian opposition supporters have decided to bide their time.
A spate of killings smacked of assassination. Among the victims was Chief Abiola's senior wife, who was shot dead by gunmen while driving through Lagos.