Defendants plead not guilty over 2025 Nigeria coup plot

Six civilians pleaded not guilty to treason and terrorism charges over an alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu, Nigerian media reported Wednesday, as the first prosecutions for the 2025 putsch attempt began.

The defendants appeared at the Federal High Court in Abuja. They include a retired major general, Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, and a retired navy captain, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor. Also named are Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani.

The trial will continue on April 27. Lawyers for both sides declined to speak to reporters outside the courthouse.

According to charging documents, the six are accused of conspiring “to levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic.” They are also accused of knowing that Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others intended to commit treason, and failing to alert authorities. Ma’aji has been named in local press reports as the alleged mastermind of the coup.

The defendants are additionally accused of conspiring to commit an act of terrorism and of knowingly supporting Ma’aji and others to do so.

Also named in the documents as having acted alongside the accused was “Timpre Sylva (still at large)” — an apparent misspelling of former oil minister Timipre Sylva. He has previously denied any connection to the coup plot.

The military is also set to try several officers in separate proceedings that have not yet begun.

SOURCE: AFP