Judges order suspected coup conspirators to remain in secret police detention

The federal government arraigned five alleged masterminds of a plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu's administration through a coup d’état on Wednesday, in a case heard by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The defendants, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, were subsequently ordered to be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) following an application by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.

The court has slated Monday for the commencement of a full-blown hearing of the case, during which the defence lawyers, led by Mohammed Ndayako, SAN, requested access to their clients, who have been in detention since their arrest.

Among the defendants is the erstwhile governor of Bayelsa State and former minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva, who is currently at large after escaping from the country before the alleged coup plot was leaked and was arraigned in absentia.

The other defendants in the 13-count treason charge include retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, serving Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, and three others: Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.

The allegations against the defendants border on treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence, and funds laundered in furtherance of acts of terrorism, with the FG maintaining that they conspired to levy war against the state to overawe President Tinubu.

According to the FG, the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failed to alert the appropriate authorities, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.

The defendants were accused of failing to take preventive steps and of rendering assistance to Colonel Ma’aji, as evidenced by their refusal to disclose the coup plot to either the president or a peace officer.

Other allegations against them centre on terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, including conspiring with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The serving police inspector, Ibrahim, and another defendant, Umoru, were accused of participating in meetings linked to terrorist activities in a bid to further a political ideology that may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The defendants were further accused of providing support for terrorism, with the prosecution alleging that they knowingly and indirectly rendered support to facilitate acts of terror.

Tracing some of the transactions linked to terrorism financing, the FG alleged that one of the defendants, Goni, indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000, which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing.

Another defendant, Sani, allegedly retained N2 million from a similar source, while Umoru accepted a cash payment of N10,000,000 without going through a financial institution and retained an additional N8.8 million suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.

Inspector Ibrahim was accused of taking possession of N1 million linked to the same alleged scheme, with all financial-related counts in the charge brought under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The charge includes counts that read: ‘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; Timipre 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.’

Another count 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; Timipre 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 use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 40(b) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 LFN 2004.’

A count related to terrorism 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; Timipre 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 commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.’

Another count related to participation in meetings connected with terrorism reads: ‘That you, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373) and Zekeri Umoru, sometime in the year 2025 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, knowingly participated in meetings connected with an act of terrorism and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Sections 2(3)(d) and 12(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.’

A count related to money laundering reads: ‘That you, Bukar Kashim Goni, in September 2025, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000.00 (fifty million naira) only in your First Bank Account Number 3021511166 from A & A Express Link Concept, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.’

Another count related to money laundering reads: ‘That you, Zekeri Umoru, in September 2025, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without going through a financial institution accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) only from Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 2(1)(a) and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.’

A count related to retention of proceeds of terrorism financing reads: ‘That you, Zekeri Umoru, in September 2025, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N8,800,000.00 (eight million, eight hundred thousand Naira) only in your Zenith Bank Plc account number 2006041878, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.’

A final count related to possession of proceeds of terrorism financing reads: ‘That you, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, in September 2025, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, directly took possession of the sum of N1,000,000.00 (one million naira) only from Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.’