According to an investigative report published by Premium Times.
Nigerian Army Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji purportedly masterminded a scheme to depose the elected civilian administration via a putsch last year, though the plot dissolved prior to gaining public awareness.
Nigeria’s troubled historical background encompasses a combination of phantom coups intercepted during early formulation stages, plots halted midway through action, alongside six successful military takeovers.
Throughout 2025, following a span exceeding thirty years devoid of military interventions in the nation, a fresh alleged conspiracy culminated in multiple arrests and examinations involving active as well as former armed forces personnel, alongside civilians suspected of executing diverse assignments within the plot aimed at displacing the President Bola Tinubu government.
Responding formally for the initial instance, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) refrained from explicitly refuting participation by army personnel in an alleged treasonable blueprint, clarifying instead that the ongoing probes concerning the detained individuals constituted a standard internal procedure designed to preserve order and occupational standards throughout the ranks.
Uncovered close to the end of September 2025, the aborted conspiracy destabilized the Tinubu administration, prompting authorities to call off the October 1 Independence Day celebrations and reshuffle military leadership, which included the removal of the then Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Christopher Musa.
Despite media reports connecting the parade cancellation to the purported rebellion, the DHQ maintained that the event was called off to enable the President to participate in an overseas bilateral conference.
Ultimately, the DHQ acknowledged the existence of a conspiracy intended to remove Mr Tinubu from power, stating that the implicated officers would face military judicial panels.
Drawing on interviews with intelligence sources and confidential files totalling about 7,424 pages obtained by Premium Times, reports detailed the initial apprehension of 16 serving military officers during September.
By February, authorities had detained 40 individuals, encompassing senior military figures across the armed forces branches, a police operative, and private citizens purportedly linked to reconnaissance, funding, and propaganda operations.
These records comprise bank documentation, encrypted messaging chat logs, receipts from hotels utilized for gatherings and material purchases, as well as depositions from participants and associates whose financial activities tied them to the purported conspirators.
Mr Ma’aji, a 50-year-old Nigerian colonel who twice failed promotion examinations to the rank of brigadier general, detailed how he formulated the conspiracy and the underlying motivations.
Apprehended on September 29, 2025—the date the federal government cancelled the Independence Day parade—Mr Ma’aji underwent questioning between October 18, 2025, and February 19, according to documents endorsed by him and a military investigator stationed at the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police (NACMP) headquarters located in Asokoro, Abuja.
By April, federal authorities instituted 13 formal counts against six individuals implicated in the plot: retired Major-General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, and Presidential Villa electrician Zekeri Umoru.
Additional defendants comprise Bukar Kashim Goni alongside Zaria-based Islamic cleric Abdulkadir Sani.
While the retired military personnel and civilians face prosecution before a civilian court, active-duty officers like Mr Ma’aji stand trial through a court-martial.
As indicated by documents reviewed in the Premium Times investigation, military investigators interrogated more than 30 personnel and civilians, incorporating their accounts into the prosecution file, though their admissibility faces challenges after several defendants argued their depositions were involuntary.
This circumstance compelled the tribunal to direct a trial-within-trial to ascertain whether officials extracted the statements voluntarily prior to determining their inclusion as evidence in the main trial.
Within his deposition, Mr Ma’aji—a 50-year-old native of Niger State—informed military interrogators that the conspiracy originated back in 2023, near the conclusion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
“Things particularly got out of control towards the end of Buhari’s administration when corruption and nepotism became the order of the day. Insecurity started spreading from the North (east) to the North-west and North-central parts of the country. Kidnapping and banditry engulfed the whole of northern Nigeria,” stated Mr Ma’aji, an infantry commander who completed tours across multiple military installations nationwide.
“The structure became critical and precarious with lives of troops and innocent citizens being lost on a daily basis,” he noted, explaining that this deterioration sparked the concept of military intervention.
He added that leadership echelons within the armed forces were expected to intervene and rectify conditions, noting with regret that senior commanders failed to take action.
Mr Ma’aji described how the initiative began by locating peers who shared identical anxieties regarding national decline and recruiting them into the network.
“Most of the officers involved share the same sense of patriotism, love of country and genuine desire for positive change,” he remarked.
Resource limitations, logistical shortfalls, and manpower shortages ultimately compelled the colonel and his associates to suspend operational objectives initially slated for execution in 2023.
“Most of the money spent were my personal resources generated through sells [sic] of my personal property coupled with sacrifice and contributions from some members,” explained Mr Ma’aji.
The colonel informed investigators that Major AJ Ibrahim transferred ₦1 million through a First Bank account, while Army Captain AA Yusuf contributed foreign currency on select occasions.
Mr Ma’aji disclosed that he liquidated three residential properties situated in Kaduna alongside a student hostel located near Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria.
The conspirators resurrected the initiative following Mr Ma’aji’s unsuccessful promotion bid in 2024.
“When I missed my second attempt at promotion to brigadier general in 2024, some of the boys started disturbing and calling on me that we needed to revive the movement again,” recounted Mr Ma’aji, adding that associates feared his impending retirement would bring shared regret.
He identified Lieutenant Colonel Shamsuddeen Bappah as one of the dedicated officers who spearheaded efforts to reactivate the enterprise.
“I could remember he had to travel from his unit in Ibadan down to Abuja just to convince me that we have no option than to revive the movement and carry out the plan,” stated Mr Ma’aji.
The colonel highlighted that he raised logistical and personnel concerns in response.
“I told him I was not in a good financial state because he was aware that I had sold all my property in the course of the movement,” he recalled, noting that the lieutenant colonel insisted on proceeding.
Mr Ma’aji reported that the officer promised to monetize a plot of land situated in Bauchi to finance operations.
“But unfortunately, he later told me he could not find a buyer,” said Mr Ma’aji, adding that he subsequently verified whether other participants remained committed and received assurances that members stood ready for mobilization.
Initial revived gatherings occurred between late 2024 and early 2025, followed by subsequent meetings across venues including Brookville Hotel and Greenland Hotel situated in Lokogoma, Abuja, involving core participants alongside new recruits.
Mr Ma’aji asserted that his personal career setbacks held minimal significance relative to the broader grievances motivating the conspiracy.
Participants shared the conviction that national conditions had worsened under President Tinubu relative to the preceding Buhari administration.
“The issue of fuel subsidy removal, floating [of naira], dubious taxes, multiple taxation, and electricity tariff hike were all of major concerns,” he noted, emphasizing that persistent corruption and widespread insecurity remained primary grievances.
According to his account, public demonstrations by youths seeking engagement with political authorities failed, heightening public frustration, particularly after security forces deployed heavy-handed tactics against demonstrators during the #EndSARS, #EndBadGovernance, and Take Back Your Country mobilizations.
Mr Ma’aji maintained that contemporary Nigerian youth face systemic unemployment, destitution, and a lack of future prospects.
He further deplored the plight of military veterans and retired personnel forced to stage protests before securing disbursement of allowances, pensions, and gratuities inadequate for basic sustenance.
Both Mr Ma’aji and co-defendants appearing before the General Court Martial maintain their innocence, mirroring pleas entered by six individuals—including retired military personnel—prosecuted before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Defendants have contested the admissibility of extrajudicial statements and interrogation video recordings, arguing that authorities improperly acquired the evidence, whereas prosecutors insist due process was observed and urged the court to overrule the objections.
In parallel developments, former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva—implicated as the primary financial backer of the conspiracy—strongly rejected any association with the plot.
Mr Sylva, who served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under the Buhari administration, issued denials through a spokesperson in October of last year following a security raid on his Abuja residence.
Characterizing the former governor as an ardent democrat, the release asserted that he maintained zero involvement—either operationally or logistically—with any treasonous enterprise.
The statement explained that Mr Sylva and his spouse were residing in the United Kingdom at that time for scheduled medical evaluations prior to attending a professional summit in Malaysia, and public records indicate he has not returned to Nigeria since.
Within the country, five associates face charges for concealing his whereabouts, alongside nine properties tied to him placed under interim forfeiture orders.
The assertions contained within statements provided by Mr Ma’aji and fellow detainees do not constitute definitive verdicts of guilt; judicial tribunals will evaluate the entirety of evidence presented by all participating counsels before issuing final judgments regarding the accused individuals.
COLONEL MA’AJI’S VERBATIM STATEMENT IN FULL
First and foremost, I want to clearly apologise for what has happened. You will call that we are all human and are bound to make mistakes.
What has happened has a very long history, and it is driven by patriotism and I love the job and country. As we are all sitting down here, we have our biases and our thoughts and concerns on what was going on in our country from a state of gradual decline up to now, and we are almost at the point of collapse. I’m sure even one of you must have had the cause to reflect on the situation of the nation.
Every time I look at how I’m struggling to raise 5 children with my meager salary, I get worried. I attended Army Day Secondary School, but today, how many of us afford to take our children to these schools, and for one reason or the other, which is connected to the bad governance. Looking at every aspect of life in Nigeria, there is no hope for the common man, and we are left to defend ourselves. This has nothing to do with any ambition or personal goals. It is purely out of the desire for a prosperous country that works for everyone.
Most of these leaders have different nationalities and are citizens of other countries, and don’t have anything to lose, unlike us, that Nigeria is our only country. Take a drive to Kaduna, go to 44 Nigeria Army Reference Hospital and see the plight of our soldiers, sir. What you will see will shock you. Soldiers and officers who sustained injury in combat have been abandoned to their fate.
The summary of all this is that this action was driven by the desire to have a prosperous nation and country that we all can be proud of. It got to a point that I was worried that if nothing is done, we may not have a country to call our own in the near future. Nigeria was turning into a banana republic right before our eyes. We know that during the era of the military regime, the country was functioning better. I believe that, as it is now, we are on a dangerous trajectory.
I know that this general conspiracy of silence and sentiment is holding all of us, but we can move above it. We were waiting to grow in rank from Lt to Gen, yet we could not see the change we wanted. We needed to tell the civilians when they are wrong and register that we have done our best. I did not mean bad for anybody, either a superior, subordinate, or peers alike. It was a genuine act to contribute my own quota and stop going to bed grumbling without action. It baffles me that a country like Nigeria, blessed with enough mineral and human resources, could be ridiculously regarded as the poverty capital of the world.
This started years ago till we got to this point of no return, where we are now. Anybody who genuinely loves this country and interacts with officers and soldiers will agree that most of us share this concern.
When I see a person who has a genuine concern about the precarious situation of our country, I throw up the discussion. I am mostly drawn to officers who genuinely reason in the same line that was how the movement started. The plan was to get enough officers of like minds who could participate. We were still at the stage of mobilizing to get more officers involved. Since at my level I am not a BDE commander or a GOC so we needed officers who could bring in resources.
There are officers that I did not talk to directly, but if any officer I am close to recommends them, I give them the go-ahead to talk with the officers. Sqn Ldr Zuzu was introduced through DB Abdullahi and Sqn Ldr SB Adamu, whom I got to know about him and he attended one of our meetings at Brookville, and he said he was going to get back on the roles he could play to assist the movement.
In this movement, a substantial amount spent are my personal resources. Timiprey Silva only came in recently. His own contribution was coming in bulk; mine, don’t have the records of how much I had spent. I think Timprey Silver has contributed about 400 million naira, and there are no foreign collaborations.
The only senior officer that I can say was aware was Brig Gen Sadiq, but he withdrew mainly based on the issue of resources and the need to get more senior officers involved, and since that time, whenever we discuss, it’s just about the challenge and how to involve more senior officers. However, after that, we did not go beyond that.
I never spoke to Gen Jalo or Gen Danja about the plan. I have also never spoken to Navy Capt Victor, rtd, about the movement. Another person, however, who was deeply involved was Col MM Adamu rtd. He also said that some senior officers close to him were also concerned about the country, which he intended to engage them at his own level.
I got to recruit Zekeri Umor through Insp Ahmed Ibrahim, who works in the villa too. Ahmed, on the other hand, I got close to him when we visited my wife’s restaurant, and also through Cpl Audu, who was close to me and had served in the villa before, we did not start based on the plot. The restaurant is called Kakaki restaurant on Mahatma Gandhi Street. The restaurant was closed when the owner sold the property.
Mostly when officers come for a meeting, you give them transport because they really don’t have. The situation is so bad that some officers cannot even afford to buy cars or even transport themselves from point A to B.
At first, Zekeri requested N1 billion to assist in getting access to the Villa, and I told him that we are stirred by patriotism, not money, and whatever was available, I would share with him.
The recruitment of CJTF was Iliyasu’s idea. When I went to the North East for a wedding, Maj Iliyasu met me and asked how far about the movement was and complained that there was no manpower. He then said he had CJTF working for 7 Div, then that we could use them. I asked him how; he said they were good, and that he could mobilize them. I asked him about weapons and he told me they already had their personal rifles. Then I asked how he was going to move them to Abuja, and these movement plans were not finalized.
This team has not been fully formed because there were supposed to be other meetings. There was no D-Day. We were waiting for the availability of resources and more officers and soldiers. I know that Hayatu and Dangnap are supposed to generate troops, but no date has been specifically given to them.
But they both said they had enough ammo, weapons, vehicles, and troops.
The essence of asking them to send pictures and the given task was to place the service chiefs under arrest in the house, and not to cause interference with the movement. The coup was supposed to be carried out at night.
Bappah has his own plans for 102 Bn because he said he stays in the unit, and he said they have some equipment that could be used.
The key persons to be arrested are as written in the paper seen at my house Col Adamu (rt) is a key player, actually, and he was supposed to also source for funds, but he has not been able to cope with his promise to make contact with some senior officers.
WO Nasir has attended the meeting twice; his boys were more or less like a standby force. I have known WO Nasiru for a very long time, from NDA when I was a cadet.
If you interact with officers and soldiers, 80 percent are disgruntled already. And it was a voluntary thing nobody was coerced. In these recent efforts, I had given up the motive, but some of these officers kept texting and calling for my intervention. There were none who after I spoke to them, drew back after sharing the plan with them. The desire for the change is genuine, and that has been what has kept the plan alive for a long time.
I and Col M Adamu had always been friends even while he was in the service. I did not talk to Lt Col AI Almakura of Artillery about this plan.
You see the genuine efforts that the Nigerian youths have tried to get back their country, you saw the End SARS protest, you saw the recent Get Back Our Country protests, End Bad Government protest too.
If the avenue for dialogue or protest or all non-violent avenues were available, they would have been utilized to prevent the country from deteriorating further as a result of the endemic corruption. All these protests were avenues for the peaceful resolution of national issues but all were rushed and opportunity lost. This is not about us alone, but the country in general.
When I was denied my first attempt for Brig Gen. Nobody up till today called me to tell me why, so also the second attempt. If our leaders are caring, that should not have been the case. In fact, after I lost my second attempt, many of the boys called me and said oga, we told you there is no other option than to go ahead with our plans and that was how the movement was revived again.
I have met Maj D Yusuf, and I don’t know his level of involvement. I also do not know Capt Benuga. Maj A Mohammed is also not involved. Brig Gen Sadiq was aware when he was a Garrison Commander in Lagos. Lt Col B Almustapha is also not
