Alleged Treason: Court Accelerates Trial Of Six Suspects Arrested By Army, DSS

The prosecution opened its case on Wednesday by calling four witnesses in the accelerated trial of six men accused of plotting to overthrow the President Bola Tinubu-led government.

One of the witnesses, a soldier from the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police (NACMP), gave details of how the alleged coup plot was uncovered and what investigators later found out.

The witness, whose identity was shielded but identified as “AAA”, said he was part of the team that investigated the case after the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General O. O. Oluyede, received an intelligence report that Colonel M. A. Ma’aji and some others were plotting to overthrow the government.

Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness confirmed knowing the six defendants.

The witness said he knew the defendants, who he said were arrested in connection with the coup plot involving Col. Ma’aji, some other serving military officers, and civilians.

He said that after receiving the intelligence report by the then COAS, it was analysed, processed, and found credible before he (the COAS) gave a directive to his team to investigate the allegations in the report.

The witness said his team proceeded to arrest Col. Ma’aji, recovered his Samsung Galaxy phone, conducted a search in his residence, and recovered a jotter, among other items.

He said the jotter contained, among others, operational plans, names and designations of ranking members of the current regime, as well as officers that were to be assassinated in the course of the coup.

The witness added: “Inside the jotter, we also found information about political and structural changes that were to be made upon the execution of the coup.”

He said that when the phone recovered from Col Ma’aji was sent for forensic analysis, the result disclosed elaborate plans and links between Col Ma’aji, some of the officers involved in the plot, and the defendants.

The witness added: “We also found financial trails between Ma’aji, former Governor Timipre Sylva, and some of the defendants here before the court.

“Also, inside the phone, we found code words known among the plotters, including some of the defendants before this court.”

He added: “We also observed financial trails between some of the defendants and Col. M. A. Ma’aji. Monies were paid to some of the defendants in pursuit of the coup plot.”

The witness added that in the course of the investigation, they came across a company called Purple Wave, which he claimed “is one of the companies used as a conduit to sponsor the coup plot”.

He stated that his team also came across the financial records of Purple Wave, which he later analysed when handed a copy of the company’s account statement earlier tendered in evidence by the prosecution.

He said the financial records of the company were provided by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the agency that investigated the financial transactions.

Oyedepo later took the witness through the account statement of Purple Wave, in which he identified how funds were allegedly disbursed for the purpose of the alleged coup.

The witness said two entries of September 19, 2025, showed a debit transaction of N100m and another N50m debit transaction.

He said on September 22, 2025, there were two debit transactions of N100m and N50m; on September 24, 2025, N100m and N50m; on September 26, 2025, N80m; on September 29, 2025, N70m; on September 30, 2025, N90m, and on October 2, 2025, N90m.

The witness said that, although the transactions carried narrations of what the funds were meant for, the investigation revealed that the money was used for the coup plot.

He said that while the first debit entry of N100m was described as part payment for clearing of debris along the coastal corridor to Purpose Wave, investigators found that it was not used for that purpose but dispensed in pursuit of the coup plot.

The witness said his team found out that several meetings were held in pursuit of the plot to overthrow the current government in places like Green Land Apartment and BrookVille Hotel in Abuja

He said his team also found that in the meetings, anti-government rhetoric was exchanged.

“They discussed negative things about the government and concluded that there was a need for regime change,” he said.

The witness said the alleged plotters drew a plan for the execution of the coup and identified key officers in the government, and also identified the officers who would assassinate them.

He said the alleged coup plotters also identified key targets to be attacked, including the Niger Barracks where senior military officers live, adding that there were also plans to take over some key roads and streets when the coup was being executed.

The witness said: “The plotters also shared appointments among themselves, including agencies to be set up and those to be merged after the coup.

“The plotters also did extensive consultation and divination, in which some of the defendants took part, knowing that a coup was ongoing. They received money for these purposes.

“They also bought vehicles, which were recovered from shops where they were being retrofitted for kinetic purposes.”

He said in the course of the investigation, they sighted the hotels and the rooms and spaces where the meetings were held, adding, “We also recovered receipts used for payment for hotel reservations.”

At that point, counsel for the prosecution, Oyedepo, applied to tender a letter from BrookVille Hotel and attached documents, which include the payment receipts.

Lawyers to the defendants objected to the admissibility of the documents but said they would provide reasons at the final address stage, following which Justice Joyce Abdulmalik admitted the documents in evidence.

Oyedepo also tendered extracts from the phone recovered from Col. Ma’aji, which the court also admitted in evidence.

The witness said the defendants volunteered written statements before the special investigative panel was set up, adding that the statement-taking sessions were also audiovisually recorded.

He said they also made voluntary written statements before the military police, which were also captured on video.

The witness said it was only Abdulkadir Sani (the sixth defendant), who was the last to be arrested, who did not make his statement before the special investigative panel but did so before the military police.

Oyedepo then applied to tender a flash drive containing the audiovisual recordings of the statement-taking sessions, a move that was opposed by lawyers to the defendants.

One of the defence lawyers, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected on the grounds that the device was not front-loaded, a claim Oyedepo conceded, prompting the judge to insist that the prosecution must serve the defence with the audiovisual recordings before they could be played in court.