Tinubu Govt Files 13-Count Treason Charge Against Alleged Plotters

Analysis, Breaking News, Legal, Politics

Tinubu Govt Slams “Coup Plotters” With 13-Count Treason Hammer

Retired officers, a serving police inspector and others face treason, terrorism and money laundering charges as Atlantic Post’s call for an open court trial lands in the mainstream.

Atlantic Post

April 21, 2026

4–5 minutes

Bola Tinubu, Coup Plot, Federal High Court, Terrorism, Treason

Retired officers, a serving police inspector and others face treason, terrorism and money laundering charges as Atlantic Post’s call for an open court trial lands in the mainstream.

The Federal Government has thrown the full weight of the state at the alleged coup plot case, filing a 13-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against a retired Major General, a retired Naval Captain, a serving police inspector and three others.

The arraignment is fixed for Wednesday, 22 April, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. The accused are Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (rtd), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (rtd), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani. Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, is also listed in the charge, though said to be at large.

The case is no small matter. It cuts straight to the heart of state security, military discipline and the old, ugly fear of power being seized by force. The charge, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, alleges treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence and laundering of suspected proceeds linked to terrorism financing.

At the centre of the prosecution’s case is the claim that the defendants conspired in 2025 to undermine the Nigerian state. The government says they worked together to levy war against the state and overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If proved, that allegation alone places the matter among the gravest charges in Nigerian criminal law.

The charge goes further. It says the defendants knew of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, yet failed to alert the authorities. In plain terms, the state is accusing them not only of conspiracy, but also of silence when action was required.

That is where the legal and moral burden becomes even heavier. The government is not merely saying the men talked. It is saying they knew, withheld information and did not act with reasonable speed to prevent the offence. In a case of this scale, omission may prove almost as serious as direct involvement.

The prosecution has also widened the battlefield by adding terrorism charges under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. It alleges that the defendants conspired to commit acts of terrorism in Nigeria, with some accused of taking part in meetings tied to terrorist activity and of acting in a way that could destabilise the constitutional structure of the country.

The money trail is equally explosive. Bukar Kashim Goni is alleged to have retained N50 million said to form part of the proceeds of terrorism financing. Abdulkadir Sani is alleged to have retained N2 million from a similar source. Zekeri Umoru is said to have accepted N10 million in cash without going through a financial institution and to have retained another N8.8 million. Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim is also alleged to have taken possession of N1 million linked to the same suspected scheme.

That financial layer matters because no serious coup or terror case is ever just about weapons or meetings. It is also about logistics, cash movement, silence, coded loyalty and the hidden hands that make illegal plans possible. The state is clearly trying to show that this was not only a political conspiracy, but a networked operation with money at its core.

For Atlantic Post, the filing also vindicates an earlier editorial position. The paper had argued that alleged coup plotters and their backers should be tried in open court, not buried inside secrecy or treated as a matter for whispered briefings. That call now looks sharper than ever. Nigeria needs evidence, not rumour. It needs disclosure, not theatre. It needs a courtroom, not a fog machine.

There is also a public interest angle that cannot be ignored. Families of detained officers have repeatedly wanted clarity, while denial and counter-denial have swirled around the case for months. The state now has the chance to prove its case in the open, with documents, witnesses and a full judicial record. That is the only route that can restore confidence, whichever way the verdict falls.

Still, the presumption of innocence remains intact. The charge sheet is not a conviction. It is an accusation, and a severe one at that. The court will now have to determine whether the state has evidence strong enough to sustain treason, terrorism and money laundering counts against men who, for now, remain defendants and not convicted traitors.

Wednesday’s arraignment will therefore be more than a routine appearance. It will be a defining moment in Nigeria’s handling of national security prosecutions. If the trial is open, disciplined and evidence-based, it may strengthen public trust. If it becomes murky, politicised or delayed, suspicion will only deepen.

For now, the message from Abuja is unmistakable. The government says it has a plot to answer. The accused say they are not guilty. The court will decide which side history remembers.