The Federal Government has filed a 13-count charge bordering on treason, terrorism, and money laundering against seven individuals, including former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, over an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The charges, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by Director of Public Prosecutions Rotimi Oyedepo, also list retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani as defendants. Authorities told the court that Sylva is currently at large.
According to the charge sheet, the defendants allegedly conspired to levy war against the Nigerian state in a bid to overawe the president, contrary to Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code. Prosecutors further alleged they had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failed to notify the authorities or take steps to prevent it.
The government also accused the defendants of terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Specifically, Inspector Ibrahim and Umoru were said to have attended meetings linked to activities intended to advance a political ideology capable of destabilising Nigeria’s constitutional order.
In addition, prosecutors alleged that some of the defendants handled funds suspected to be linked to terrorism financing. Goni was accused of retaining N50 million believed to be proceeds of unlawful activity, while Sani allegedly retained N2 million. Umoru was also accused of accepting N10 million in cash outside the banking system and retaining another N8.8 million from suspected illicit sources, while Inspector Ibrahim allegedly received N1 million connected to the same scheme.
The defendants are expected to be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The case follows earlier speculation about a possible coup attempt after the government cancelled a planned military parade marking Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary in October 2025, citing security concerns. Although the military initially denied any coup threat, it later announced that 16 officers would face court-martial over an alleged attempt to oust the president.
It remains unclear whether the new civilian court charges are separate from the ongoing military prosecutions involving those officers.
Sylva, who served as petroleum minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari and earlier as Bayelsa State governor, previously denied any involvement in a coup plot after investigators searched his residence last October. His spokesman had said at the time that he was in the United Kingdom for medical treatment and described the allegations as politically motivated.
Reacting to the development, Bayelsa elder and convener of the South-South Reawakening Group, Joseph Ambakederimo, urged that the trial be handled transparently and without political interference, stressing that the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt in court.
