Six people in Nigeria, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, have been charged with treason for allegedly attempting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu in a coup plot last year.
The charges were filed by Nigeria's Attorney General at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the defendants are scheduled to appear before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Wednesday. A seventh person, former petroleum minister and Bayelsa state governor Timipre Sylva, was also named in the charges but remains at large.
The defendants include 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.
Court documents suggest the alleged coup plot was led by Col Mohammed Alhassan Ma'aji, who was arrested along with other accomplices. Prosecutors allege the defendants had prior knowledge of Ma'aji's "treasonable act" but failed to inform authorities.
The charges extend beyond treason to include terrorism and money laundering, with prosecutors alleging the defendants intended to destabilize the state and failed to disclose information that could have helped prevent terrorism. Money-laundering allegations form a significant part of the case, with accusations that funds changed hands linked to financing terrorism.
Rumors of the coup plot first surfaced in October 2025 when the Nigerian government abruptly cancelled a planned military parade to mark the country's 65th Independence Anniversary. Officials cited security threats at the time, but speculation quickly linked the cancellation to a possible coup attempt. The military initially denied suggestions of a coup plot but announced in January that 16 officers would be tried before a military court for attempting to oust the president.
It remains unclear whether the Federal High Court charges are in addition to the separate military prosecutions or represent a parallel legal process.
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Sylva, who served as petroleum minister from 2019 to 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari and governed the oil-rich Bayelsa state from 2007 to 2012, has denied links to any coup plot. His house was ransacked by investigators last October, and an arrest warrant was issued for him the following month in a separate anti-corruption case. His spokesman said at the time that Sylva was in the UK for medical treatment and called the allegations politically motivated.
Under Nigerian law, treason is among the most serious criminal offenses and can carry severe penalties, including life imprisonment. The defendants have yet to comment publicly on the allegations.
The charges emerge as West Africa continues to experience democratic instability, with military interventions disrupting civilian governments across the Sahel in recent years. Nigeria has maintained unbroken civilian rule since 1999, with the armed forces consistently stressing their loyalty to civilian authority through public statements reaffirming their commitment to democracy.
However, the country faces significant internal security challenges, including jihadist insurgencies in the northeast, banditry across the northwest and north-central regions, and separatist tensions in the southeast. These pressures have tested Nigeria's democratic institutions while military governments have taken power elsewhere in the region.
The Wednesday court appearance will mark the beginning of formal legal proceedings in what represents one of Nigeria's most significant treason cases in recent years.
