Nigerian authorities have filed treason charges against six people, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu. The charges were filed by the Attorney General at the Federal High Court in the capital, Abuja, where the defendants — all currently in custody — are due to appear before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. A seventh suspect, Timipre Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa state and one-time oil minister, was named in the court documents but remains at large.
The charges, which also include terrorism and money laundering, centre on allegations that the defendants "conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe" the president. Prosecutors allege the plot was led by Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma'aji and that the six defendants had prior knowledge of his plans but failed to alert authorities. The charge sheet also includes accusations of suppressing intelligence and of financial transactions linked to terrorism financing. The other defendants named are Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; Zekeri Umoru, an electrician employed at the Presidential Villa; Bukar Kashim Goni, a civilian; and Abdulkadir Sani, an Islamic cleric.
Rumours of the plot first surfaced in October 2025, when the government abruptly cancelled a military parade marking Nigeria's 65th Independence Anniversary, citing vague security threats. The military initially denied any coup attempt, but in January 2026 announced that 16 officers would face a military court over what had originally been described as "acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations." It remains unclear whether the Federal High Court proceedings run parallel to, or separately from, those military prosecutions.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has experienced five coups since independence but has maintained unbroken civilian rule since its democratic transition in 1999. Under Nigerian law, treason is among the most serious criminal offences, carrying penalties that can include life imprisonment. The alleged plot emerges against a broader regional backdrop: West and Central Africa have seen a wave of military takeovers in recent years, including attempted coups in Benin and Guinea-Bissau late last year. Analysts point to a pattern of disputed elections, constitutional instability, security crises, and widespread youth discontent as driving factors behind the regional trend — a context that lends additional weight to the charges now before Nigeria's courts.