Nigerian Military Opens Door for Lawyers, Families to Meet Detained Coup Suspects

Sources familiar with the development told SaharaReporters that access was approved at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) detention facility in Abuja, where the suspects are being held, beginning from Tuesday.

The Nigerian military has granted lawyers and family members access to individuals accused of involvement in an alleged coup plot, following months of restricted contact.

Sources familiar with the development told SaharaReporters that access was approved at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) detention facility in Abuja, where the suspects are being held, beginning from Tuesday.

The development comes after concerns were raised over limited access to the detainees since their arrest.

There had been concerns over plans to try the suspects in batches before a military-style tribunal rather than in open civilian courts, a move critics say raises questions about transparency and due process.

On Tuesday, SaharaReporters reported that the Nigerian government had filed a 13-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against a retired Major General, a retired Naval Captain, a serving police inspector, and three others over their alleged involvement in a coup plot and plans to wage war against Nigeria and commit acts of terrorism.

The defendants, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (rtd), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (rtd), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani, were scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 22, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Also named in the charge sheet, but said to be at large, is the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.

The case, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, accuses the defendants of offences including treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence, and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.

At the centre of the allegations is a claim 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 punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.

The prosecution further alleged that the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, but failed to alert authorities.

The charge states that they, “knowing that and was intended to commit treason, did not give the information thereof with all reasonable dispatch to either the President… or a Peace Officer.”

In a related count, the defendants were also accused of failing to take preventive steps, as they allegedly “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence.”

Beyond treason, the Nigerian government is prosecuting the defendants for terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The charge alleged that they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Particularly, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru are accused of participating in meetings tied to terrorist activities.

Prosecutors claim they acted “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilize the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The charge also accuses the defendants of providing support for terrorism, alleging that they “knowingly and indirectly, rendered support” to facilitate acts of terror.

In addition, the prosecution alleged a deliberate suppression of intelligence, stating that the defendants “had information which would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of the act of terrorism, but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable.”

The case further traces financial transactions allegedly linked to terrorism financing, with multiple defendants accused of handling proceeds of unlawful activities.

Bukar Kashim Goni is alleged to have “indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000 which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: terrorism financing,” while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2 million from a similar source.

Umoru, according to the charge, “without going through a financial institution accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000,” and also retained an additional N8.8 million suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.

Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also accused of taking possession of N1 million linked to the same alleged scheme.

All financial-related counts were brought under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The Nigerian military had faced criticism over its plan to court-martial officers accused of plotting a coup, with relatives and associates of the detainees raising concerns about secrecy, due process, and access to legal representation.

Earlier, wives of some of the detained officers staged a peaceful protest at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, demanding either the immediate release of their husbands or a transparent judicial process.

Dressed in black and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Justice for our daddies” and “Charge them to court or what are you hiding,” the women decried what they described as prolonged unlawful detention.

They alleged that their husbands had been held incommunicado for over five months without access to lawyers or family members.

The detained officers were initially arrested in October 2025 for alleged acts of indiscipline and breaches of military regulations.

However, authorities later claimed that investigations uncovered a broader plot to destabilise the government.

Among those currently in custody is Major H. Yusuf, alongside other officers whose specific roles in the alleged conspiracy have not been fully disclosed.

Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (Retd.), had earlier revealed that he was among top officials allegedly marked for assassination in the supposed coup plan.

“I was also a target. I was supposed to be arrested, and if I refused, I was supposed to be shot,” he said during a television interview.