Abuja – Six people in Nigeria, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, have been charged with treason for allegedly plotting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu on Independence Day last year.
The charges were filed by the Attorney General at the Federal High Court in the capital, Abuja, where the defendants are due to appear before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Wednesday.
A seventh suspect, former governor and one-time oil minister Timipre Sylva, was also named in the court documents but is still at large. 
Rumours of the coup plot first surfaced in October 2025 when the government abruptly cancelled a planned military parade to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary. Officials cited security threats at the time, but speculation quickly linked the cancellation to a possible coup attempt.
The military denied the suggestion, but in January announced that 16 officers were to be tried before a military court for allegedly attempting to oust the president. It remains unclear whether the charges filed in the Federal High Court, which also include terrorism and money laundering, are in addition to those military prosecutions.
Sylva, who served as petroleum minister from 2019 to 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari and was governor of the oil-rich Bayelsa state from 2007 to 2012, denied any links to a coup plot after his house was searched by investigators last October. An arrest warrant was issued for him the following month in a separate case launched by the country’s anti-corruption agency. His spokesman said at the time that the former minister was in the United Kingdom for a medical check-up and described the allegations as politically motivated.
Those named in the Attorney General’s case are Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major general; Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; Zekeri Umoru, an electrician working at the Presidential Villa; Bukar Kashim Goni, a civilian; and Abdulkadir Sani, an Islamic cleric.
According to the charge sheet, the six defendants “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe” the president. The court papers suggest the plot was led by Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji, who was arrested along with other accomplices.
Prosecutors allege the defendants had prior knowledge of Colonel Ma’aji’s “treasonable act” but failed to inform authorities. The charges include suppression of intelligence, with prosecutors alleging the defendants were intent on destabilising the state and withheld information that could have helped prevent terrorism.
Money laundering allegations form a significant part of the case, with accusations that money changed hands in connection with the financing of terrorism. Under Nigerian law, treason is one of the most serious criminal offences and can attract severe penalties, including life imprisonment.
Nigeria has experienced unbroken civilian rule since 1999, with the armed forces consistently stressing their loyalty to civilian authority.
