By Adesakin Adefemi
The Federal Government has filed a 13-count treason and terrorism charge against former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, a retired Major General, and four others over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The defendants were listed in the charge lodged before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Those named are Sylva, retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, serving Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
Court filings indicate that Sylva, a former Bayelsa State governor and petroleum minister under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, is currently at large. The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed the case, signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly conspired to levy war against the state to overawe President Tinubu, an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code. They were also accused of having prior knowledge of a treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji but failing to alert authorities.
The Federal Government further alleged that the defendants did not “use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence,” despite knowing of the plot. The charge also includes terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, for allegedly conspiring to commit acts of terrorism to destabilise Nigeria’s constitutional structure.
Inspector Ibrahim and Umoru were specifically accused of participating in meetings linked to terrorist activities “in a bid to further a political ideology which might seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The prosecution also alleged that the defendants knowingly rendered support to facilitate acts of terror.
On financial counts, the government traced transactions it linked to terrorism financing. Goni was accused of indirectly retaining ₦50,000,000 suspected to be proceeds of an unlawful act, while Sani allegedly retained ₦2 million from a similar source. Umoru was said to have accepted a cash payment of ₦10,000,000 without going through a financial institution and retained another ₦8.8 million suspected to be terrorism funds. Inspector Ibrahim allegedly took possession of ₦1 million linked to the scheme.
The defendants are expected to be arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik today, April 22, 2026, barring any last-minute change. Rumours of the alleged coup first surfaced in October 2025 when the government cancelled a planned military parade for Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, citing security threats.
In January, the military announced that 16 officers would face a court-martial over attempts to oust the president. It remains unclear whether the Federal High Court charges are separate from the military prosecutions. Sylva had previously denied links to a coup plot after investigators searched his home in October. An arrest warrant was issued for him in November in a separate anti-corruption case.
Reacting to the arraignment, Bayelsa elder and convener of the South South Reawakening Group, Joseph Ambakederimo, said anyone who breaks the law should face the court but cautioned that “the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. This trial should not be politicised; it should be an open trial.”
