The Federal Government has filed a 13-count charge against six individuals over an alleged plot to overthrow the Nigerian government and carry out acts of terrorism, marking a major step in ongoing efforts to prosecute suspected coup plotters.
The case, filed on Monday, April 20, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, is before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The defendants include retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
Also named in the charge, but currently at large, is former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
They are scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 22, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly conspired in 2025 “to levy war against the state to overpower the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The Federal Government further accused the suspects of failing to disclose intelligence about the alleged plot, stating that they, “knowing that a treasonable act was intended to be committed, did not give information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President… or a peace officer.”
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Prosecutors also alleged that the accused failed to take preventive action, as they “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence.”
In addition to treason, the defendants are facing charges under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. The government alleged that they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru were specifically accused of attending meetings linked to the plot, “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The charge further stated that the defendants “knowingly and indirectly rendered support” to facilitate acts of terrorism and withheld critical intelligence, noting that they “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.”
Financial allegations were also included. Bukar Kashim Goni allegedly “indirectly retained the aggregate sum of ₦50,000,000, which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing,” while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2m from similar proceeds.
Zekeri Umoru was accused of receiving “a cash payment of the sum of ₦10,000,000” outside the financial system and retaining an additional ₦8.8m, while Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim allegedly took possession of “the sum of ₦1,000,000, being part of proceeds of terrorism financing.”
The charges follow earlier investigations into an alleged coup plot uncovered in late 2025, with the trial expected to test the government’s resolve to confront threats to national security.