The Federal Government has filed a 13-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against six individuals, including two retired senior military officers and a serving police inspector, over an alleged plot to wage war against Nigeria and commit acts of terrorism.
The defendants—retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani—are scheduled to be arraigned on April 22 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
Also listed in the charge, but said to be at large, is former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
The charge, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, includes allegations of treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence, and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly conspired in 2025 to wage war against the state with the aim of overthrowing the President, an offence punishable under the Criminal Code. They were also accused of having prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failing to inform the appropriate authorities.
The defendants are further alleged to have neglected to take reasonable steps to prevent the commission of the offences and to have withheld information that could have helped avert the plot.
Beyond treason-related allegations, they face charges under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, for allegedly conspiring to carry out acts capable of destabilising the country’s constitutional order. Some of the accused were said to have attended meetings connected to the alleged plan.
They are also accused of providing support for terrorism and deliberately suppressing intelligence that could have assisted security agencies in preventing such acts.
On the financial aspect, the prosecution alleged that Bukar Kashim Goni retained ₦50 million linked to terrorism financing, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained ₦2 million from similar sources. Zekeri Umoru was accused of receiving ₦10 million in cash outside formal financial channels and retaining an additional ₦8.8 million suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing. Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also alleged to have taken possession of ₦1 million linked to such activities.
The case is expected to test ongoing efforts to prosecute offences related to national security as proceedings commence before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Post comments (0)