The Nigerian government, on Wednesday, arraigned a retired army general and five others over an alleged failed coup against President Bola Tinubu.
The six men pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all 13 charges preferred against them before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
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They include Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major-general, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain, and Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector.
The rest are Zekeri Umoru, an electrician at the Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, and Abdulkadir Sani, who is a Zaria, Kaduna State-based Islamic cleric.
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After the defendants entered their plea of not guilty during the proceedings, which did not start until about 1.40 p.m. on Wednesday, the judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.
The judge also fixed 27 April for the hearing of the defendants’ bail application.
Five of the defendants were brought to court by the agents of the State Security Service (SSS). They are to remain in the security agency’s custody pending the hearing and determination of their bail applications. Only Mr Sani, the Islamic cleric, came to court on his own, a court having previously ordered his unconditional release.
PREMIUM TIMES reported previously that over 40 individuals, including serving military officers, chief among whom was a serving colonel, Mohammed Ma’aji, have been arrested in connection with the alleged coup since information about the plot leaked in September last year.
Vehement denial
Some of the defendants stoutly denied the charges read to them on Wednesday, opting to offer unsolicited explanations in maintaining their innocence beyond merely answering “not guilty”.
The fifth defendant, Mr Goni, and the sixth, Mr Sani, said in Hausa that they never knew some of the other defendants.
Specifically, Mr Sani said, “I do not even know Mr Gana (the major-general).”
Similarly, when count 10 was read, Mr Goni (the fifth defendant) acknowledged the N50 million the prosecution claimed was discovered in his account but maintained that the money was not meant for terrorism as alleged in the charges.
Also, Mr Ibrahim said he was not guilty, explaining further that he accepted the N1 million found in his account as a gift from Colonel Ma’aji, a serving military officer alleged to be the arrowhead of the failed coup plot. He also said the money was not meant for financing terrorism.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges, including treason, terrorism, failure to disclose information about the alleged coup to relevant authorities and money laundering.
Although not charged as a defendant, the name of Timipre Silva, a former Governor of Bayelsa, appears in seven of the 13 counts. Mr Silva, who served as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources during the immediate-past administration of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, is alleged to be one of the financiers of the failed coup. Five of his aides and domestic workers are being held in custody over the coup allegations.
The charges filed against the six defendants said Mr Sylva is on the run.
The federal government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, filed the charges on Monday.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the full details of the charges here.
The indictment was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Hearing hiccups
PREMIUM TIMES reported Mr Sani’s early arrival in court at about 9 a.m., ahead of the proceedings scheduled for 12 p.m. The proceedings did not start until about 1.40 p.m.
Mr Sani, the sixth defendant who came to court on his own, arrived before others who were later produced in court by agents of the SSS. A judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his unconditional release on Monday.
The SSS brought the other defendants at about 1.40 p.m., kickstarting the proceedings.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, a SAN, together with the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mr Oyedepo, appeared for the prosecution.
All the defendants, except Ahmed Ibrahim, a police officer and the third defendant, had their lawyers in court. Mr Ibrahim told the court that he already engaged a lawyer, whom he said was unavoidably absent.
The judge noted that since it was just an arraignment, Mr Ibrahim could take his plea in the absence of his lawyer.
But at about 2.04 p.m., the judge paused the proceedings due to the absence of an interpreter required by Mr Sani.
While waiting for the arrival of an interpreter to relate the proceedings to Mr Sani in Hausa, the judge used the time-out to attend to other cases.
She resumed hearing the case upon the arrival of an interpreter at about 2.25 p.m.
The courtroom was packed on Wednesday, with the judge ordering the ejection of those who could not find a seat.
Hearing proceeds
After the defendants entered their plea, the AGF, Mr Fagbemi, urged the court to order an accelerated hearing of the case.
However, Mr Gana’s lawyer, Mohammed Ndayako, a SAN, called the court’s attention to his client’s bail application.
He also requested that defence lawyers be permitted to interact with their defendants, who were all in the dock.
Mr Ibrahim, the police inspector, requested Mr Ndayako’s representation pending the availability of his lawyer.
All other defence lawyers aligned themselves with Mr Ndayako’s submissions.
Mr Fagbemi assured the judge that the defence lawyers would be allowed to see their clients in custody, but at the convenience of the SSS.
Thereafter, the court granted an accelerated hearing of the matter and set 27 April for the bail hearing.
The judge ordered the remand of all the defendants in SSS custody.
However, she directed that defence lawyers should be granted access to their clients in custody.
Alleged coup plot
PREMIUM TIMES has extensively reported the alleged coup plot since October 2025, despite initial military denial.
In its initial denial of the alleged coup plot, the Defence Headquarters, on 18 October 2025, said the 16 officers were arrested as part of a routine internal investigation.
But PREMIUM TIMES subsequently reported that the officers were under probe for allegedly attempting to eliminate President Tinubu and other top government officials in a coup plot.
Other alleged targets, according to sources, were Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.
The plot was uncovered in late September 2025, after an unnamed military officer with direct knowledge of the coup contacted the then Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede.
According to the officer, he feared being implicated as an accessory to treason if he failed to alert authorities.
In January, the military finally acknowledged the coup plot and plans to further prosecute the matter in court.
Details of the charges
On Monday, the federal government filed the 13 coup charges against the six defendants in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026.
The charges were brought under the Criminal Code Act, the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022.
The government accused the six individuals of treason, terrorism, failure to disclose coup information to relevant authorities, and financing terrorism through money laundering.
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In five of the 13 counts, the prosecution alleged that various funds ranging from N2 million to N50 million, totalling N71.2 million, were found in the accounts of the police officer and civilians among the defendants.
The five counts name the individuals in whose accounts the various sums of money were discovered. The charges described the funds as proceeds of terrorism financing.
In the first count, the defendants were accused of conspiring to “wage war” against the state to remove President Tinubu from office, an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The second and third counts allege that the defendants had knowledge of plans by the alleged coup leader, Mohammed Ma’aji, a colonel, and others to commit treason but failed to report or prevent it, in violation of Section 40(b) of the Criminal Code.
The fourth count accuses them of conspiracy to commit terrorism under Section 26(1) of the Terrorism Act.
In the fifth count, Mr Ibrahim, the police inspector, and Mr Umoru were specifically accused of participating in meetings linked to terrorist activities, contrary to Sections 2(3)(d) and 12(a) of the Terrorism Act.
Subsequent counts allege that the defendants provided support to the plotters, failed to disclose critical intelligence that could have prevented the alleged acts, and withheld information that could have aided their arrest.
Count nine focuses on Mr Sani, the cleric, who is accused of indirectly retaining N2 million in his Jaiz Bank account from A & A Express Link Concept, funds authorities say he reasonably ought to have known were proceeds of terrorism financing.
Similarly, Mr Goni is accused in count 10 of receiving N50 million through his First Bank account from A & A Express Link Concept, funds alleged to be linked to terrorism financing.
Mr Umoru is central to multiple counts, including allegations that he received N10 million in cash from the alleged coup leader in September 2025 and retained an additional N8.8 million in his Zenith Bank account, both sums believed to be the proceeds of unlawful activities.
In the final count, Mr Ibrahim, the police inspector, is accused of receiving N1 million from Mr Ma’aji, which authorities say he ought to have known was linked to terrorism financing.
