EXCLUSIVE: Why I planned coup against Tinubu – Colonel Ma’aji

Nigerian Army colonel Mohammed Ma’aji allegedly spearheaded a  plan to overthrow Nigeria’s democratically elected government in a coup d’état  last year. But the alleged plot  reportedly collapsed before it ever became public knowledge.

Nigeria’s chequered history has seen a mix of “phantom coup”  thwarted in the middle of planning, coups foiled during execution, and six successful coups.

In 2025, after over three decades of the nation’s clean break from coup d’etats, another alleged attempt ended in a series of arrests and interrogations  of serving and retired military officers, including civilians suspected of playing various roles in the plot to topple the President Bola Tinubu administration.

In its first official reaction to the matter, the Defence Headquarters ( DHQ), in a statement, did not categorically deny that the military officers were involved in an alleged coup plot. It rather explained that the  “ongoing investigation involving” the arrested officers was “a routine internal process aimed at ensuring discipline and professionalism is maintained within the ranks.”

The foiled plot, uncovered in late September 2025, unsettled the Tinubu government,  which, among other things, cancelled the 1 October  Independence Day Parade and reshuffled the military hierarchy, including the sacking of then Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Christopher Musa. Although media reports linked the cancellation of the parade to the alleged plot, the DHQ  explained that it was called off to allow the President to “attend a strategic bilateral meeting outside the country.”

The DHQ  finally admitted that there was indeed a coup to oust Mr Tinubu’s government, adding that the indicted officers will be arraigned before military judicial panels.

Drawing on  interviews with intelligence sources, PREMIUM TIMES has extensively reported on the conspiracy starting with the initial arrest of 16 serving military officers in September. By February, 40 people, including senior military officers across the armed forces, a police officer, and civilians allegedly involved in reconnaissance, funding and propaganda operations, had been arrested in connection with the conspiracy.

But for the first time, this newspaper is reporting  authoritatively in a series of exclusive publications about the matter, drawing on a  trove of confidential documents totalling about 7,424 pages. These documents  include bank account statements, chat exchanges on encrypted messaging platforms, receipts of hotels used for meetings and items purchased, as well as statements by participants and non-participants with financial dealings linking them to the alleged coup planners.

Mr Ma’aji, a 50-year-old Nigerian colonel who has failed his promotion to the rank of brigadier general twice, explained how he conceived the plot  and the motivation behind it.

Arrest, interrogation, charges

Mr Ma’aji was arrested on 29 September 2025, the day the Nigerian government cancelled the Independence Day parade. He was interrogated between 18 October 2025 and 19 February, according to statements signed by him  and a military investigator at the headquarters of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police (NACMP) in Asokoro, Abuja.

In April, the federal government filed 13 charges against six individuals accused of being part of the coup plot. They are Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major-general; Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; and Zekeri Umoru, an electrician at the Presidential Villa.

Others are Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani, a Zaria-based Islamic cleric.

While the ex-military officers and civilians are being tried in a civil court, the serving military officers, including Mr Ma’aji, are facing trial at a court-martial.

According to the documents reviewed for this report, more than 30 officers and civilians were interrogated by military investigators. Their statements form part of the prosecution’s case, but their admissibility remains contested after several defendants told the court they were not made voluntarily. 

This prompted the court to order a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statements were obtained voluntarily before deciding whether they could be admitted as evidence in the substantive trial.

From the beginning

In his statement, Mr Ma’aji, a 50-year-old officer from Niger State, told military investigators that the plot dated back to 2023, towards the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“Things particularly got out of control towards the end of Buhari’s administration when corruption and nepotism became the order of the day. Insecurity started spreading from the North (east) to the North-west and North-central parts of the country. Kidnapping and banditry engulfed the whole of northern Nigeria,” Mr Ma’aji, an infantry officer who had served at several military formations across the country, stated.

“The structure became critical and precarious with lives of troops and innocent citizens being lost on a daily basis,” he wrote, adding that this was when “the idea of military intervention started.”

He added that “ it was expected that the higher hierarchy of the military could have acted to save the situation. Unfortunately, there was no action from the top.”

Mr Ma’aji explained that the movement started by identifying officers who share “the same concerns and worries about the deteriorating situation of the country and co-opting them into the scheme.”

“Most of the officers involved share the same sense of patriotism, love of country and genuine desire for positive change,” he said.

The struggles to raise funds

Mr Ma’aji said lack of funds, logistics and manpower forced him and his military co-conspirators to shelve the plans he hoped to execute in 2023.

“Most of the money spent were my personal resources generated through sells [sic] of my personal property coupled with sacrifice and contributions from some members,” Mr Ma’aji said.

The colonel told investigators that AJ Ibrahim, a  major, contributed N1 million through his First Bank account. He added that AA Yusuf, an army captain, donated some US dollars on a few occasions.

Mr Ma’aji told investigators that he sold three houses in Kaduna State and a students’ hostel he had in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

Alleged plot revived in 2024

They soon revived the plan after Mr Ma’aji failed his second attempt at promotion in 2024.

“When I missed my second attempt at promotion to brigadier general in 2024, some of the boys started disturbing and calling on me that we needed to revive the movement again,” Mr Ma’aji said. “They were afraid that I might be retired prematurely and that all of us will regret it.”

He said Shamsuddeen Bappah, a lieutenant colonel, was one of the passionate officers who was particularly at the forefront of the revival of the movement.

“I could remember he had to travel from his unit in Ibadan down to Abuja just to convince me that we have no option than to revive the movement and carry out the plan,” Mr Ma’aji.

Mr Ma’aji said he raised concerns about logistics and manpower.

“I told him I was not in a good financial state because he was aware that I had sold all my property in the course of the movement,” he said. “But he insisted that we have to carry out the plan.”

Mr Ma’aji stated that the officer promised to sell his plot of land in Bauchi to support the movement. 

“But unfortunately, he later told me he could not find a buyer,” Mr Ma’aji said. The colonel said he asked Mr Bappah whether the other officers were still committed to the plan, and was told they remained on board and would be mobilised for a meeting.

According to him, the first meeting took place in late 2024 or early 2025. He said subsequent meetings were held at different locations, including Brookville Hotel and Greenland Hotel in Lokogoma, Abuja, involving largely the same officers, with a few new members joining the group.

Mr Ma’aji said his failed promotional bids ranked less in significance of the motivations behind the alleged plot.

He said members of the movement believed Nigeria’s situation had deteriorated, arguing that conditions had worsened under President Tinubu compared to the administration of Mr Buhari.

“The issue of fuel subsidy removal, floating [of naira], dubious taxes, multiple taxation, and electricity tariff hike were all of major concerns,” he said, adding that “endured corruption and widespread insecurity were also considered as major issues” affecting the country. 

According to him, attempts by the youth to have the listening ears of the political leadership failed, leading them to be more frustrated than ever. He cited how excessive force was used by security agencies to suppress demonstrators during #EndSARS, #EndBadGovernance and Take Back Your Country protests.

Mr Ma’aji said an average Nigerian youth today is a frustrated human being without a job, a means of livelihood and hope for the future. 

He also lamented that military veterans and other frontline retirees have had to embark on protests before getting paid for their benefits, pension and gratuities, which are not even enough to take care of their basic needs.

Mr Ma’aji and co-accused persons  facing charges at the General Court Martial have denied wrongdoing. Six others, including retired military officers, facing charges stemming from the alleged plot at the Federal High Court in Abuja have also maintained their innocence. They have also  raised objections against the admissibility of their written statements and video clips capturing their interrogation session. They urged the court not to accept their extrajudicial statements and the video clips because they are inappropriately collected. But the prosecution maintains that due process was followed and urged the court to dismiss the defendants’ objection.

Similarly, former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, believed to be the main financier of the alleged coup, vehemently denied having anything to do with the conspiracy. Mr Sylva, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources during the immediate past administration of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, issued the denial in a statement by his spokesperson in October last year. This followed a raid by security forces on his house in Abuja. 

The statement, which described the former governor as a thoroughbred democrat, stated that he could not have been part of a plot, maintaining that he “ has no involvement whatsoever—either in planning or in logistics—with any such plot.” It added at the time that Mr Sylva and his wife were in the United Kingdom at the time “for a routine medical check-up and would proceed to Malaysia for a professional conference.” The former governor is not known to have returned to Nigeria since then. But back home, five persons associated with him are facing charges for concealing his whereabouts, while nine properties linked to him have been placed under an order of interim forfeiture. 

The claims in written and verbal statements by Mr Ma’aji and other people interrogated about the alleged coup  are not proof of guilt; the courts will only determine the guilt or innocence of the defendants facing charges at the end of ongoing trials, which will entail the courts reviewing the totality of the evidence presented by all parties.

COLONEL MA’AJI’S VERBATIM STATEMENT IN FULL

First and foremost, I want to clearly apologise for what has happened. You will call that we are all human and are bound to make mistakes.

What has happened has a very long history, and it is driven by patriotism and I love the job and country. As we are all sitting down here, we have our biases and our thoughts and concerns on what was going on in our country from a state of gradual decline up to now, and we are almost at the point of collapse. I’m sure even one of you must have had the cause to reflect on the situation of the nation.

Every time I look at how I’m struggling to raise 5 children with my meager salary, I get worried. I attended Army Day Secondary School, but today, how many of us afford to take our children to these schools, and for one reason or the other, which is connected to the bad governance. Looking at every aspect of life in Nigeria, there is no hope for the common man, and we are left to defend ourselves. This has nothing to do with any ambition or personal goals. It is purely out of the desire for a prosperous country that works for everyone.

Most of these leaders have different nationalities and are citizens of other countries, and don’t have anything to lose, unlike us, that Nigeria is our only country. Take a drive to Kaduna, go to 44 Nigeria Army Reference Hospital and see the plight of our soldiers, sir. What you will see will shock you. Soldiers and officers who sustained injury in combat have been abandoned to their fate.

The summary of all this is that this action was driven by the desire to have a prosperous nation and country that we all can be proud of. It got to a point that I was worried that if nothing is done, we may not have a country to call our own in the near future. Nigeria was turning into a banana republic right before our eyes. We know that during the era of the military regime, the country was functioning better. I believe that, as it is now, we are on a dangerous trajectory.

I know that this general conspiracy of silence and sentiment is holding all of us, but we can move above it. We were waiting to.grow in rank from Lt to Gen, yet we could not see the change we wanted. We needed to tell the civilians when they are wrong and register that we have done our best. I did not mean bad for anybody, either a superior, subordinate, or peers alike. It was a genuine act to contribute my own quota and stop going to bed grumbling without action. It baffles me that a country like Nigeria, blessed with enough mineral and human resources, could be ridiculously regarded as the poverty capital of the world.

This started years ago till we got to this point of no return, where we are now. Anybody who genuinely loves this country and interacts with officers and soldiers will agree that most of us share this concern.

When I see a person who has a genuine concern about the precarious situation of our country, I throw up the discussion. I am mostly drawn to officers who genuinely reason in the same line that was how the movement started. The plan was to get enough officers of like minds who could participate. We were still at the stage of mobilizing to get more officers involved. Since at my level I am not a BDE commander or a GOC so we needed officers who could bring in resources.

There are officers that I did not talk to directly, but if any officer I am close to recommends them, I give them the go-ahead to talk with the officers. Sqn Ldr Zuzu was introduced through DB Abdullahi and Sqn Ldr SB Adamu, whom I got to know about him and he attended one of our meetings at Brookville, and he said he was going to get back on the roles he could play to assist the movement.

In this movement, a substantial amount spent are my personal resources. Timiprey Silva only came in recently. His own contribution was coming in bulk; mine, don’t have the records of how much I had spent. I think Timprey Silver has  contributed about 400 million naira, and there are no foreign collaborations.

The only senior officer that I can say was aware was Brig Gen Sadiq, but he withdrew mainly based on the issue of resources and the need to get more senior officers involved, and since that time, whenever we discuss, it’s just about the challenge and how to involve more senior officers. However, after that, we did not go beyond that.

I never spoke to Gen Jalo or Gen Danja about the plan. I have also never spoken to Navy Capt Victor, rtd, about the movement. Another person, however, who was deeply involved was Col MM Adamu rtd. He also said that some senior officers close to him were also concerned about the country, which he intended to engage them at his own level.

I got to recruit Zekeri Umor through Insp Ahmed Ibrahim, who works in the villa too. Ahmed, on the other hand, I got close to him when we visited my wife’s restaurant, and also through Cpl Audu, who was close to me and had served in the villa before, we did not start based on the plot. The restaurant is called Kakaki restaurant on Mahatma Gandhi Street. The restaurant was closed when the owner sold the property.

Mostly when officers come for a meeting, you give them transport because they really don’t have. The situation is so bad that some officers cannot even afford to buy cars or even transport themselves from point A to B.

At first, Zekeri requested N1 billion to assist in getting access to the Villa, and I told him that we are stirred by patriotism, not money, and whatever was available, I would share with him.

The recruitment of CJTF was Iliyasu’s idea. When I went to the North East for a wedding, Maj Iliyasu met me and asked how far about the movement was and complained that there was no manpower. He then said he had CJTF working for 7 Div, then that we could use them. I asked him how;  he said they were good, and that he could mobilize them. I asked him about weapons and he told me they already had their personal rifles. Then I asked how he was going to move them to Abuja, and these movement plans were not finalized.

This team has not been fully formed because there were supposed to be other meetings. There was no D-Day. We were waiting for the availability of resources and more officers and soldiers. I know that Hayatu and Dangnap are supposed to generate troops, but no date has been specifically given to them. 

But they both said they had enough ammo, weapons, vehicles, and troops.

The essence of asking them to send pictures and the given task was to place the service chiefs under arrest in the house, and not to cause interference with the movement. The coup was supposed to be carried out at night.

Bappah has his own plans for 102 Bn because he said he stays in the unit, and he said they have some equipment that could be used.

The key persons to be arrested are as written in the paper seen at my house Col Adamu (rt) is a key player, actually, and he was supposed to also source for funds, but he has not been able to cope with his promise to make contact with some senior officers.

WO Nasir has attended the meeting twice; his boys were more or less like a standby force. I have known WO Nasiru for a very long time, from NDA when I was a cadet.

If you interact with officers and soldiers, 80 percent are disgruntled already. And it was a voluntary thing nobody was coerced. In these recent efforts, I had given up the motive, but some of these officers kept texting and calling for my intervention. There were none who after I spoke to them, drew back after sharing the plan with them. The desire for the change is genuine, and that has been what has kept the plan alive for a long time.

I and Col M Adamu had always been friends even while he was in the service. I did not talk to Lt Col AI Almakura of Artillery about this plan.

You see the genuine efforts that the Nigerian youths have tried to get back their country, you saw the End SARS protest, you saw the recent Get Back Our Country protests, End Bad Government protest too.

If the avenue for dialogue or protest or all non-violent avenues were available, they would have been utilized to prevent the country from deteriorating further as a result of the endemic corruption. All these protests were avenues for the peaceful resolution of national issues but all were rushed and opportunity lost. This is not about us alone, but the country in general.

When I was denied my first attempt for Brig Gen. Nobody up till today called me to tell me why, so also the second attempt. If our leaders are caring, that should not have been the case. In fact, after I lost my second attempt, many of the boys called me and said oga, we told you there is no other option than to go ahead with our plans and that was how the movement was revived again.

I have met Maj D Yusuf, and I don’t know his level of involvement. I also do not know Capt Benuga. Maj A Mohammed is also not involved. Brig Gen Sadiq was aware when he was a Garrison Commander in Lagos. Lt Col B Almustapha is also not a part. Maj A ldris has not been regular in meetings, but he is aware of the plans. Lt Col AImakura was in the know of the plans, and I discussed it with him around 2023; however, since he assumed command in Abuja, I have not contacted him.

Maj Usman was to get resources from 45 Bn, Lt Col Dangnap was to bring sources from 134 Bn, Maj AJ Ibrahim was to get resources from 198. Aminu John was not part of the plan. Whenever I am looking for cash, I just reach out to him to get the cash or mint. FM Ali is also not involved.

To prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents like this I would advise the authority as follows

1. Poor Remuneration: The salary of Nigerian Armed Forces personnel is too low, considering the current economic realities and inflation

2. Welfare: For instance, we are an army at war; our handling of casualties is paramount to how the rest working will be willing to continue and lay their lives for the country. There is also a need for robust welfare packages for all the members of the Armed Forces. There is also a need for serving personnel’s family welfare packages to be introduced. The COAS Loan Program should be expanded and sustained. The AF NHIS package needs to be reviewed to include more critical health challenges rather than just malaria and typhoid. There is a need for a sustainable housing program for the Armed Forces rather than isolated and disjointed packages. The issue of the Obasanjo car loan scheme needs to come back. I think the AFN needs a whole department dedicated to personnel welfare. I could elaborate on this if given the opportunity.

3. Godfatherism: A system where you can hardly get anything without someone calling in on your behalf. There are officers who have been 8, 9 years straight on operations. While we still have some officers who haven’t been to the North East and will never be there.

4. Pension Upgrade: Col Adamu told me that his pension cannot buy his BP drugs. I feel sad when I saw CDS ordering ex-servicemen to be dispersed from their protest ground for improved pensions. We should remember that we shall all retire. Our ex-servicemen deserve better treatment. Charity begins at home; that is why I am starting from the armed forces.

5. Removal of fuel subsidy: The government should have phased the removal and not the sudden removal, and the policy is anti-human. The primary purpose of government, as provided by the Constitution, is the welfare and security of the people… we have rather created more stealing avenues because governors now have more funds to steal. An average Nigerian is not asking for too much, just a bare minimum of being able to move from point A to B and also afford 3 square meals, good health, and the education of their children. The federal Government should invest the subsidy money in a practical project that can reduce human suffering. The issue of Urban Mass Transit that started during the military regime should be revisited.

6. Corruption: This must be given clear and serious attention because it is the mother of all crimes. The examples of Yaya Bello, Emiefele, the former accountant general, all these people are yet to face justice, and then these soldiers are watching these, and you do not expect vulnerability or reaction?

7. Education: Our education is in shambles. Those of us here in Abuja, how much do we pay for school fees, and how many officers/soldiers can afford school fees with their salaries?

8. Budget padding: After padding a budget and awarding costs, they’re still not implemented. For example, you put 1 thousand naira for a water of 100 naira and still do not buy the water.

These are people who got almost everything free, including education when growing up, but there is no free education anywhere today in Nigeria. They all turned their backs against the country. As a service personnel, how much of salary can you save that would buy you a house to live in ? Is it after using all your youthful years that you will start looking for money to survive after retirement?

Some officers have served for over 15 years, and even a plot of land they don’t have. The policy of car loans was swept under the carpet. What happened to all these policies? An average officer or soldier is barely surviving. Despite the huge sacrifices they are making on a daily basis to keep the country safe and secured.

There is no well-spelt out channel of communication to the COAS if an officer wishes to have any interaction with him. There is a need to institutionalize a channel of communication for officers to air their concerns without being witch-haunted.

Timiprey Silva is someone that I have known since as a Capt but I never discussed this issue with him until just recently and it was still pushed from all these boys. When I did, he said Col please I don’t want to hear about this but later he then called and asked to know more of the details and asked about the chances of success. He said he’s a politician, but he does not think current politicians have the audacity to return the country to track. He said he sent all his children abroad because of the unfavourable conditions of Nigeria as a country.

There were considerations of 27 September, 1 Oct, and a month after as the possible D-Day, but it was not concluded as no specific day was agreed. Sqn Ldr Zuzu introduced by Lt Cdre Abdullahi, that he had conversed with the officer and that the officer is seriously disgruntled, and I gave him the go-ahead to invite him for a meeting. I sent him  money as welfare and not to buy me golf kits as I don’t play golf. I asked about the whereabouts of his family in order to be sure they were out of Abuja.

WO Nasiru said he has some contacts of influencers, but I don’t know them.

Col Adamu was supposed to procure radios from a link he had in Kaduna, but has not been given the money to procure them yet.

From the time I have been arrested till now, If I were to be released and these issues in the country persist, I will consider a different approach. The past 2 or  3 weeks I have been arrested has been quite challenging and revealing, and it has served as an eye opener for me. I have come to realise that there could be alternative ways of conveying some of these concerns, especially after my interaction with this panel. If God willing, the authority is kind enough to pardon us…,we will never contemplate this course of action again in the future. recommendation for an open channel of communication to the COAS would provide ample opportunity and avenue for officers to register their concerns.

If there was any discussion of IED, it was Maj Iliyasu who said he had some Boko Haram technicians working in the theater to make IED, but I told him that it was not necessary.

My loss of promotion for the second time also contributed to the revival of …the movement to commence again. This is because the boys were … that the injustice would never stop, and as such they are for a revival of the struggle.

There is no evidence that the loss of my first promotion could be attributed to the allegation of my involvement in attempting to disrupt the 2023 election and take the government. All I know is that I was still at AHQ Gar when I was invited for an interview at DIA. I met AVM Owai, who quizzed me on what was going through my mind and I told him nothing. He then said there were allegations that politicians were trying to use me for election. I said that was not the case. And truly, as at that time the movement had died down. Then he requested my phone…. I was detained and advised, and released with a verbal apology.

My application for Schengen VSIA has been long and has nothing to do with  the movement. Only one of my daughters got admission to study medicine at Cairo University, Egypt.

I have a passionate appeal to the authorities. It is often said that two wrongs do not make a right. Therefore, on behalf of everyone involved, I want to beg authority to look at the cause and the fundamental issues that drove us into this and address them. We are pleading for leniency and pardon as first offenders. The system should take a deep breath and pardon us. They should give us a chance to mend our ways. We have no other country than Nigeria and no other job. They should also look at some of our sacrifices and not judge us by one mistake. We are pleading for a pardon and a chance to amend our ways. Many of the officers have participated in some operations in the North East. I am happy nobody has been hurt. No action has been taken, and no bullet has been released. Please accept our prayers for leniency and pardon us.

This incident has really opened our eyes and has changed our mindset forever. It was not intended to destabilize the country at all.

Everything we planned was born out of patriotism, love of country, and the desire to have a prosperous Nigeria that we all can be proud of.

We shall also be glad if we should be given the opportunity to interact with ASA face to face and plead forgiveness, and sign an agreement to the effect that we shall never return to the past again in the future. Thank you very much sir.

Read the teaser story for the PREMIUM TIMES series of exclusive reports on the failed coup plot here, and subsequent exposés here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.