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The Federal Government has instituted a 13-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja against former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and seven others over an alleged plot to wage war against Nigeria and carry out acts of terrorism.
Also named in the charge are Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (retd), Captain Erasmus Victor (retd), Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday before Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, while Sylva is reportedly at large.
The charge, 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 treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence, and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly conspired in 2025 to undermine the Nigerian state and destabilise its constitutional order. They were specifically accused of plotting to “levy war against the state to overawe the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” contrary to provisions of the Criminal Code.
The Federal Government further alleged that the accused persons had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but failed to report the information to appropriate authorities.
Prosecutors stated that despite being aware of the alleged plot, the defendants did not notify the President or any peace officer and equally failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the commission of the offence.
Beyond the treason allegations, the defendants are also facing charges under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, for allegedly conspiring to commit acts of terrorism within Nigeria.
Particularly, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru were accused of attending meetings linked to terrorist activities, allegedly in furtherance of a political ideology capable of destabilising the country’s constitutional structure.
The charge also alleges that the defendants provided both direct and indirect support to facilitate acts of terrorism, including withholding intelligence that could have prevented such acts.
In addition, the prosecution accused the defendants of deliberately suppressing vital information, noting that they failed to disclose intelligence to relevant security agencies as required by law.
The case also involves allegations of terrorism financing, with several defendants accused of handling proceeds of unlawful activities linked to terror operations.
Bukar Goni was alleged to have retained N50 million believed to be proceeds of terrorism financing, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly held N2 million from similar sources.
Zekeri Umoru was further accused of receiving N10 million in cash outside the banking system and retaining an additional N8.8 million suspected to be linked to terrorism financing, while Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim allegedly took possession of N1 million connected to the scheme.
All financial-related offences were brought under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as the Federal Government intensifies its crackdown on threats to national security.
