By Joy Yesufu
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the remand of six defendants in the custody of the Department of State Services when they were arraigned on a 13-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism.
At the proceedings, which commenced at about 1:46 p.m., the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, informed the court that the charges were ready and sought leave for them to be read to the defendants.
The Federal Government is accusing the defendants of treason, terrorism financing, failure to disclose security intelligence, and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
The charge which was filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
The accused include a retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, who was brought to court in a wheelchair due to ill health and old age, and a former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, said to be at large.
The defendants facing a 13-count charge in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026 are retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
The hearing was briefly stalled after the third defendant informed the court that his counsel was indisposed, while counsel to the sixth defendant indicated that his client understood only Arabic and Hausa, prompting the court to stand down the matter to allow for an interpreter.
When proceedings resumed at about 2:18 p.m., all six defendants took their pleas, denying the allegations and pleading not guilty to the charges.
Following their arraignment, the prosecution applied for their remand in DSS custody and requested an accelerated hearing of the case. While most defence counsel did not oppose the application, counsel to the first defendant indicated plans to file a bail application.
In a short ruling, the trial judge granted the request for accelerated hearing and ordered that the defendants be remanded in DSS custody, with access to their legal representatives.
Sunusi Musa, SAN, stood for a renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abdukadir Sani Zaria.
The defendants were accused of plotting to wage a war against the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the intent to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an offence said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
They allegedly “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overthrow 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.
Apart from treason, the Federal Government is prosecuting the defendants for terrorism-related offences under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The counts are as follows:
COUNT 1: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, Timipre Sylva (still at large), and others, sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 LFN 2004.
COUNT 2: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, Timipre Sylva (still at large), and others, sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowing that Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others intended to commit treason, did not give the information with all reasonable dispatch to either the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or a peace officer, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 40(b) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 LFN 2004.
COUNT 3: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, Timipre Sylva (still at large), and others, sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowing that Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others intended to commit treason, did not use reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 40(b) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 LFN 2004.
COUNT 4: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, Timipre Sylva (still at large), and others, sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 5: That you, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373) and Zekeri Umoru, sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, knowingly participated in meetings connected with an act of terrorism, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Sections 2(3)(d) and 12(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 6: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, and Timipre Sylva (still at large), sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowingly and indirectly rendered support to Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others to commit an act of terrorism, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 13(1)(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 7: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, and Timipre Sylva (still at large), sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had information which you knew would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of an act of terrorism by Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others, but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 6(1)(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 8: That you, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (RTD), Captain (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (RTD), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim (AP776373), Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni, Abdulkadir Sani, and Timipre Sylva (still at large), sometime in 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had information which you knew would be of material assistance in securing the apprehension of Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668) and others for an offence of terrorism, but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 16(1)(b) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
COUNT 9: That you, Abdulkadir Sani, on or about September 23, 2025, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the sum of N2,000,000.00 (Two Million Naira) in your Jaiz Bank account (No. 0005620270) from A & A Express Link Concept, which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
COUNT 10: That you, Bukar Kashim Goni, in September 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) in your First Bank account (No. 3021511166) from A & A Express Link Concept, which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
COUNT 11: That you, Zekeri Umoru, in September 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without going through a financial institution, accepted a cash payment of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) from Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 2(1)(a) and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
COUNT 12: That you, Zekeri Umoru, in September 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, indirectly retained the sum of N8,800,000.00 (Eight Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) in your Zenith Bank Plc account (No. 2006041878), which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
COUNT 13: That you, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, in September 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, directly took possession of the sum of N1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira) from Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji (N/10668), which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: waging war against the state, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until April 27, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
