*To Be Arraigned April 22
THE Federal Government has filed a 13-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja against alleged coup plotters against the administration of President Bola Tinubu, including a retired major-general, a retired naval captain, a serving Police inspector and three others.
They are expected to be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Wednesday, April 22.
They are accused of waging a war against Nigeria and committing acts bordering on treason and terrorism.
Recall that in October last year, the federal government announced the cancellation of a parade earlier scheduled to celebrate the country’s 65th independence anniversary on October 1.
Reports days later by SaharaReporters linking the cancellation to an alleged coup attempt was dismissed by the Defence headquarters, insisting there was no such attempt.
On October 31, 2025, TheCable reported that 16 military officers were arrested in the first week of the month over the alleged coup attempt, while two other officers were on the run, while in January this year, the Defence confirmed there was indeed a plot to overthrow Tinubu, as investigations conducted in line with established military procedures found some personnel culpable and those involved would be arraigned before relevant military judicial panels.
Families and associates of the suspects have since been calling for their release or arraignment, following their detention without trial since their arrest.
The defendants in the case are a former governor of Bayelsa State, as well as a former minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; a retired major-general, Mohammed Ibrahim Gana; a retired Navy captain, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor; a Police Inspector, Ahmed Ibrahim; Zekeri Umoru; Bukar Kashim Goni; and Abdulkadir Sani.
The charges were filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and signed by Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation,Rotimi Oyedepo.
The defendants, who are accused of treason and terrorism and failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing, allegedly conspired with one another to “levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Goni was alleged to have “indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000, which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: terrorism financing,” while Sani allegedly retained N2million from a similar source.
Umoru was alleged to have “without going through a financial institution, accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000,″ and also retained an additional N8.8million suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing; Ibrahim was accused of taking possession of N1million linked to the same alleged scheme; while Ibrahim and Umoru were accused of participating in meetings tied to terrorist activities.
The charge sheet reads: “That you, MAJOR GENERAL MOHAMMED IBRAHIM GANA -(RTD), CAPTAIN (NN) ERASMUS OCHEGOBIA VICTOR -(RTD), INSPECTOR AHMED IBRAHIM (AP776373), ZEKERI UMORU, BUKAR KASHIM GONI, ABDULKADIR SANI, TIMPRE SYLVA (still at large) and others, sometime in the year 2025, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 LFN 2004,” part of the charge sheet reads.
“That you, MAJOR GENERAL MOHAMMED IBRAHIM GANA (RTD), CAPTAIN (NN) ERASMUS OCHEGOBIA VICTOR (RTD), INSPECTOR AHMED IBRAHIM (AP776373), ZEKERI UMORU, BUKAR KASHIM GONI, ABDULKADIR SANI, TIMPRE SYLVA(still at large) and others, sometime in the year 2025, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowing that COLONEL MOHAMMED ALHASSAN MA’AJI (N/10668) and others intended to commit treason, did not give the information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, or a Peace Officer, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 40(b) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 LFN 2004.”
