By Adesakin Adefemi
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday played video recordings in which two defendants admitted they were aware of an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu, while a third denied any knowledge of the plan.
The videos were contained in a hard drive tendered by the prosecution during the trial of six defendants standing trial on a 13-count charge filed by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. The case is marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026.
In the recordings, Erasmus Victor, a retired navy captain, and Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector attached to the State House, admitted they knew of discussions about overthrowing the government. Mohammed Gana, a retired major-general, said he had no knowledge of the plan.
Defence lawyers objected to the admissibility of the recordings, arguing that the statements were not made voluntarily. They also opposed playing the videos in open court before they were admitted in evidence.
Presiding Judge Joyce Abdulmalik overruled the objections and directed that the recordings be played. She said the court would conduct a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statements were made voluntarily.
In his interview, Gana said he retired from the Nigerian Army in 2010 as chief of defence logistics and had since lived a quiet life. He admitted knowing the alleged mastermind, Col. M.A. Ma’aji, but insisted he was unaware of any coup plot.
“If I knew about any coup plan, I would have reported it,” Gana said. He acknowledged forwarding a coup speech delivered by Joshua Dongayaro during a previous military takeover, as well as messages with anti-government rhetoric, but said he did not originate them
Victor told investigators that Ma’aji was angry over his delayed promotion and said he wanted to overthrow the system. “I told him to forget about it and consider retirement,” Victor said. He admitted he was approached to provide funds and secure accommodation, with a promise of an appointment if the plan succeeded.
He said he declined to participate but kept communicating with the principal suspect through a secure messaging platform using coded language. “My relationship with him clouded my thoughts. If not, I would have reported to the appropriate authorities,” Victor said, expressing regret.
Ibrahim said he was first approached to help facilitate Ma’aji’s promotion before discussions shifted to an alleged plan to overthrow the government. He admitted receiving between N1.4 million and N1.5 million and conducting reconnaissance around the Presidential Villa, including Aguda House.
The inspector said he took photographs of parts of the villa and discussed possible access routes. He confirmed that coded terms like “fertiliser” and “farming” were used to refer to funding and the operation but claimed he did not take the plan seriously.
“I played along because I knew it would be impossible for them to access the State House,” Ibrahim told investigators. The prosecution said the defendants were informed that the interviews were being recorded under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and told of their right to remain silent.
The other defendants in the case are Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani. They were arraigned on April 22. The case was adjourned until Tuesday at 11 a.m. for continuation of hearing.
