The federal government Tuesday filed a 13-count charge before the federal high court in Abuja against alleged plotters of a coup to oust the sitting president, President Bola Tinubu.
The case, submitted at the Federal High Court in Abuja, names six suspects, including retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Victor, and Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, alongside Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
Also mentioned in the charge is former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who is reportedly still at large.
Among the suspects are a retired major general, a retired naval captain, a serving police inspector, and three others.
The defendants in Suit No FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026 are accused of waging a war against Nigeria and committing acts bordering on treason and terrorism.
In October 2025, the federal government announced the cancellation of a parade earlier scheduled to celebrate the country’s 65th independence anniversary on October 1.
A few days later, reports filtered out that the cancellation of the independence anniversary event was linked to an alleged coup attempt.
The DHQ later dismissed the reports, insisting that the cancellation had no links to the alleged coup attempt.
On October 31, 2025, it was reported that 16 military officers were arrested in the first week of the month over the alleged coup attempt, while two other officers were on the run.
In January 2026, the defence headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that there was a plot to overthrow Tinubu.
Samaila Uba, the DHQ director of defence information, had said investigations conducted in line with established military procedures found some personnel involved in a coup plot.
Uba had said the officers would be arraigned before relevant military judicial panels.
A few weeks ago, in March, to be specific, family members of military officers detained over an alleged coup plot appealed to Tinubu to allow the suspects to be tried in an open court.
At a press conference in Abuja, wives and other family members of the detained officers also requested access to the alleged coup masterminds.
In April, families of the detained military officers protested at the entrance of the national assembly to demand a speedy trial and access to their relatives.
