The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the six persons accused of plotting to overthrow the Federal Government be remanded at the detention facility of the Department of State Services, DSS.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the order on Wednesday following a request by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN, who led the Federal Government’s legal team in the trial.
At the arraignment, all six accused persons denied the 13-count treason charges brought against them by the Federal Government.
Shortly after their plea was taken, Fagbemi, SAN, applied for an accelerated trial of the defendants, which was promptly granted by the court, along with their remand in DSS custody.
An attempt by some of the defence lawyers to move oral applications for bail of their clients was rejected by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who directed them to file formal applications.
Justice Abdulmalik fixed April 27 for the commencement of trial of the accused persons.
She also ordered that their lawyers be granted access to them for effective preparation of their defence.
Sunusi Musa, SAN, who stood for the renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abdukadir Sani Zaria, thanked the AGF for the request to remand the accused persons in DSS custody.
He said the DSS had been very civil and respectful of his client’s rights since he was moved from the detention facility of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), where he claimed no one was allowed access to detainees.
One of the defendants, retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, was brought to court in a wheelchair due to ill health and old age.
They include a former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, who is said to be at large.
Those put on trial in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026 are retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
In the 13-count charge, they were accused of plotting to levy war against the Federal Republic of Nigeria to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The alleged offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The charge was filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
The Federal Government accused the defendants of treason, terrorism financing, failure to disclose security intelligence, and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
The defendants allegedly “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overthrow the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The prosecution further alleged that the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failed to alert authorities.
Apart from treason, the Federal Government is prosecuting the defendants for terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 1: 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 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.
COUNT 2: 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 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 with all reasonable dispatch 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.
COUNT 3: 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 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 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.
COUNT 4: 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 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.
COUNT 5: That you, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373) and Zekeri Umoru, sometime in 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.
COUNT 6: 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, and Timipre Sylva (still at large), sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowingly and indirectly rendered support to Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others to commit an act of terrorism, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 13(1)(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 7: 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, and Timipre Sylva (still at large), sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had information which you knew would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of an act of terrorism by Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others, but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 6(1)(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 8: 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, and Timipre Sylva (still at large), sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had information which you knew would be of material assistance in securing the apprehension of Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others for an offence of terrorism, but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 16(1)(b) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 9: That you, Abdulkadir Sani, on or about September 23, 2025, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the sum of N2,000,000.00 (Two Million Naira) in your Jaiz Bank account (No. 0005620270) from A & A Express Link Concept, which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed 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.
COUNT 10: That you, Bukar Kashim Goni, in September 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) in your First Bank account (No. 3021511166) from A & A Express Link Concept, which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed 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.
COUNT 11: 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 N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) 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.
COUNT 12: That you, Zekeri Umoru, in September 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the sum of N8,800,000.00 (Eight Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) in your Zenith Bank Plc account (No. 2006041878), which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed 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.
COUNT 13: 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) from Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668), which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: waging war against the state, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
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