• Military grants lawyers, families access to suspects in Abuja
• DSS releases detained Islamic cleric, Zaria, for trial

The Federal Government, yesterday, arraigned six individuals, including two retired senior military officers and a serving police inspector, before the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly plotting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.
 
Maj-Gen. Mohammed Gana (rtd), Navy Capt. Erasmus Victor (rtd), Insp. Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani were docked on 13 counts bordering on treason, terrorism and money laundering.
 
Meanwhile, the military has granted lawyers and family members access to individuals accused of involvement in a coup plot, following months of restricted contact.
 
Also named in the charge, but presently at large, is a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
 
The prosecution, led by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), accused the defendants of conspiring in 2025 to “levy war against the state” with the intent of removing the President.
 
All defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
 
Following the plea, the prosecution sought an accelerated hearing and requested that the defendants be remanded in the Department of State Services (DSS) custody.
  
Defence counsel, led by Mohammed Ndayako (SAN) moved oral applications for bail and requested access to their clients.
 
Justice Abdulmalik, in a brief ruling, ordered that the defendants be remanded in DSS custody and adjourned proceedings till April 27, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
 
According to the charge marked FHC/ABJ/206/2026, the defendants allegedly failed to disclose intelligence relating to a planned coup and did not take reasonable steps to prevent its execution, despite having prior knowledge.
 
The Federal Government further alleged that the accused persons conspired to commit acts of terrorism under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and were involved in financing such activities.
 
Specifically, Goni was accused of retaining N50 million linked to terrorism financing, while Sani allegedly held N2 million from similar proceeds. Umoru reportedly accepted N10 million in cash outside the banking system and retained an additional N8.8 million suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing. Insp. Ibrahim was also accused of receiving N1 million tied to the alleged scheme.
 
The charge further stated that some of the defendants attended meetings aimed at advancing a political ideology capable of destabilising Nigeria’s constitutional order.
 
The arraignment follows earlier confirmation by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in January 2026 of an attempted coup involving certain military personnel. 

ACCORDING to sources, access to the suspects was approved at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) detention facility in Abuja, where the suspects were being held, beginning from yesterday.
 
The development came 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.
 
Earlier, wives of some of the detained officers had 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.

SHEIKH Sani Zaria was hauled into detention without an order of court for allegedly associating with one of the alleged coup plotters.
 
Justice Lifu had lambasted the DIA for its refusal to subordinate itself to civil rule and rule of law by refusing to produce the detained man in court when ordered to do so. He said as an agency established by law, the DIA should not place itself above the laws of the land in the discharge of its statutory functions.
 
The judge held that the provisions of Section 36(1)(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution apply to him and “for all citizens”.
 
He noted that Nigeria, as a signatory to various international conventions on human rights, could not afford to fall behind on such issues.
 
The judge noted that since December 11, 2025, the applicant was kept in “safe custody” without access to family and associates after an investigation was opened about him, on grounds described as security reasons.
 
He ordered the AGF to ensure immediate compliance with the court’s judgment.
 
The cleric had been in DIA custody since December last year following the discovery of N2 million in his Jaiz Bank account paid by one of the indicted coup plotters.
 
Although he agreed to forfeit the amount to the Federal Government to regain his freedom, the security agency held him to determine the level of his complicity in the alleged coup plot.