The federal government has filed a 13-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja against Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and six others over an alleged plot to wage war against Nigeria and commit acts of terrorism.
Other defendants include Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, Erasmus Victor, Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani. They are expected to be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
Sylva is reportedly at large.
The charge, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), accuses the defendants of treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence, and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
At the core of the case is an allegation that the defendants conspired in 2025 to undermine the Nigerian state. According to the charge, they “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” an offence under the Criminal Code.
The prosecution further alleged that the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failed to inform authorities.
The charge states that they, “knowing that and was intended to commit treason, did not give the information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President or a Peace Officer.”
It also alleges that they, “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence.”
Beyond treason, the defendants are being prosecuted under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 for terrorism-related offences. The charge claims they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Specifically, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru are accused of attending meetings linked to terrorist activities, allegedly acting “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilize the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The prosecution also alleged that the defendants “knowingly and indirectly, rendered support” to facilitate acts of terror and withheld critical intelligence that could have prevented such acts.
Financial transactions tied to alleged terrorism financing were also highlighted. Bukar Goni is accused of retaining N50 million believed to be proceeds of unlawful activity, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2 million.
Zekeri Umoru is said to have “without going through a financial institution, accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10million” and retained an additional N8.8 million linked to the alleged scheme. Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also accused of taking possession of N1 million connected to the same funds.
All financial-related charges were filed under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
