By Taiye Agbaje
Federal Government will on Wednesday, arraign suspected coup plotters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on allegations bordering on treason and terrorism.
The FG, through the Office of the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF), will arraign them on 13-count charge before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026, was filed on April 20 by the Director, Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
Those named in the charge are retired Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (rtd), Cap. (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (rtd), Insp Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who is alleged to be part of the act, is listed as being at large.
The defendants were accused of offences ranging from treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
At the centre of the case is an allegation that the defendants conspired in 2025 to undermine the Nigerian state.
They were alleged to have conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The offence is said to be 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 Col Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failed to alert authorities.
The charge stated that they, “knowing that and intended to commit treason, did not give the information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President or a Peace Officer.”
In another count, the defendants were accused of failing to take preventive steps, as they allegedly “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence.”
Beyond treason, the Federal Government is prosecuting the defendants for terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The charge alleged that they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Particularly, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru are accused of participating in meetings linked to terrorist activities.
The AGF alleged they acted “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The charge also accused the defendants of providing support for terrorism, alleging that they “knowingly and indirectly rendered support” to facilitate acts of terror.
The AGF alleged a deliberate suppression of intelligence, stating that the defendants “had information which would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of the act of terrorism but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable.”
The charge further traced financial transactions allegedly linked to terrorism financing, with multiple defendants accused of handling proceeds of unlawful activities.
Bukar Goni is 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 Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2 million from a similar source.
Zekeri Umoru, according to the charge, “without going through a financial institution accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000,” and also retained an additional N8.8 million suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also accused of taking possession of N1 million linked to the same alleged scheme.
All financial-related counts were brought under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The act is described as a coordinated network involving security personnel, civilians, and a politically exposed individual, allegedly connected to activities threatening national security.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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