Six former security officials accused of plotting the violent overthrow of President Bola Tinubu’s government pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, as the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned their treason trial to April 27.
Prosecutors filed 13 criminal charges against the group, including treason, terrorism and terrorism financing. The suspects include retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, serving Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, and civilians Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani. A seventh suspect, former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, remains at large.
The defendants denied the charges during their arraignment before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. Attorney-General and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi asked for a quick trial, citing the gravity of the case. “We respectfully request that the trials commence immediately in an open court of law visible to all Nigerians,” family members of the accused said in a public appeal. “We do not want secret proceedings or media trial. If our husbands are guilty, let it be proven beyond reasonable doubt.”
Justice Abdulmalik declined oral bail applications and directed defence lawyers to file formal written motions. She ordered that the suspects be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services pending trial. Defence counsel Mohammed Ndayako asked the court to order the DSS to grant access to their clients. “Since the arrest of these officers, members of their families have not been allowed to have access to them and they have not been allowed access to legal representation,” said lawyer Deji Adeyanju.
The federal government opened its case on Wednesday and called four witnesses, including a soldier from the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police identified as “AAA.” The witness testified that the then Chief of Army Staff, General O. O. Oluyede, received intelligence that Colonel M. A. Ma’aji and others were plotting to overthrow the Tinubu-led federal government. Upon Ma’aji’s arrest, investigators recovered a Samsung Galaxy phone and a jotter containing operational plans, names of ranking officials to be assassinated, and details of political and structural changes to be made upon execution of the coup. “Inside the jotter, we also found information about political and structural changes that were to be made upon the execution of the coup,” the witness said.
Prosecutors allege the defendants “conspired with one another to wage war against the state to overthrow the president of the Federal Republic”. They are also accused of failing to disclose security intelligence and of laundering funds linked to terrorism financing. Court filings claim the group planned to assassinate President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and to detain service chiefs.
The case is the most serious treason prosecution since Tinubu took office in 2023. In October 2025, Tinubu suddenly replaced the military’s leadership in a sweeping shake-up described by an aide as a move to bolster security. The military had initially said 16 officers were arrested for indiscipline, but later confirmed a coup plot investigation. “Mr President, the military publicly stated over six weeks ago that investigations had been concluded. If that is the case, justice must now move forward,” the families said.
Elsewhere, Madagascar detained a French former serviceman over an alleged mutiny plot. Prosecutors charged the suspects with spreading false information to disturb public order, plotting to sabotage power lines and thermal plants, harbouring wanted individuals and criminal conspiracy. Authorities said the group planned actions for April 18, including power cuts and efforts to incite security forces to rebel.
In Brazil, Congress overturned President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s veto on a bill sharply reducing former President Jair Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election. The move cut Bolsonaro’s term to just over two years and reduced sentences for those convicted over the January 2023 riot.
Back in Abuja, the trial of the Nigerian suspects resumes April 27 as families, civil society groups and the international community call for transparency. “If they are innocent, justice demands that they be set free,” the families pleaded.
