EXCLUSIVE: How alleged coup leader’s hidden motivation led him into arrest trap

Since 2023, Mohammed Ma’aji, a Nigerian Army colonel and the alleged leader of a thwarted coup plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, had been seeking promotion to the rank of brigadier general. After missing out twice, he reasoned that if taking his deserved place in the military continued to prove impossible, he should aim at taking the whole country.

Mr Ma’aji told investigators that he started rallying for the coup in 2023, toward the end of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The 49-year-old officer from Niger State mentioned his motives included insecurity and the deplorable conditions of serving and retired soldiers and officers, which he said the military hierarchy failed to address.

Somehow, the mumbling about the plot reached the top of the military leadership.

In 2023, Mr Ma’aji was invited and detained overnight at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on an allegation that some politicians were trying to use him “to disrupt the 2023 general elections.”

Mr Ma’aji said his phone was seized for forensic screening, adding that the allegation was not true.

“I was released with a verbal apology because there was no evidence,” he wrote in one of his statements contained in a large volume of documents exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

After he missed his promotion again in 2024, Mr Ma’aji said he revived the coup plot, saying some of his boys (officers below his rank) persuaded him to.

“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.”

Mr Ma’aji was arrested on 29 September after military authorities exploited his desire for promotion as bait to lure him into a meeting.

In his signed statement which he penned during interrogation, the officer recounted how he was lured into custody after being invited to what he believed was a meeting to discuss his long-awaited promotion with the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Olufemi Oluyede.

Mr Ma’aji said he received a call from the Chief of Staff to the COAS directing him to report to House 12 at Niger Barracks. He said moments later, the COAS personally called him, urging him to hurry because they needed to discuss his promotion.

According to the officer, the Army chief also asked whether he had spoken with retired Major General A. Mohammed, popularly known as “Bandect,” further reinforcing his belief that the meeting concerned his career progression.

“I drove immediately to Niger Barracks House 12 with very high morale because I was excited that my promotion issue was finally receiving attention,” he said.

At the time Mr Ma’aji received these calls, the plan to overthrow the government had moved into top gear. Operational plans, as well as strategies for fundraising, weapons mobilisation and logistics arrangement had been mapped out.

Mr Ma’aji said the meeting initially centred on why his promotion had been delayed. He said the COAS asked whether he knew why his promotion had been stopped, inquired about his service record and course grades, and assured him that he would be promoted during the year.

The officer said the conversation took an unexpected turn when the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Emmanuel Undiandeye, a lieutenant general, arrived at the meeting.

According to his account, the CDI asked if he was Colonel Ma’aji and instructed him to accompany him to his office to collect a message for retired Major General Bandect. The COAS, he said, later handed him $1,000 as welfare support before directing him to accompany the intelligence chief.

Believing he was simply delivering a message, Mr Ma’aji said he drove behind the CDI to the DIA headquarters.

However, upon arrival, he said he was instead directed to the office of Nicholas Ashinze, a brigadier general and the director of operations at the DIA.

“It was there he started asking me about the plot involving myself, Lt. Felix, Lt. Col. Bappah and others,” Mr Ma’aji stated.

The colonel said he initially denied knowledge of any coup plot but was informed that one of the co-conspirators, S.S Felix, a lieutenant, had already been arrested while Shamsuddeen Bappah, a lieutenant colonel, was on the run.

“That was how the investigation commenced on 29 September 2025 till today,” he stated.

In the same statement, the officer appealed for mercy on behalf of other suspects, saying they had realised their mistakes during the investigation.

He claimed their actions were motivated by “patriotism, love of country and a genuine desire to have positive change,” rather than personal gain, while urging authorities to improve the welfare of military personnel.

The officer painted a grim picture of conditions within the armed forces, saying officers and soldiers were grappling with economic hardship, poor welfare, inadequate housing and declining morale.

He warned that frustration was growing within the ranks and called on military authorities to establish safe internal channels through which personnel could raise grievances without fear of victimisation.

PREMIUM TIMES first reported on the alleged coup plot in October 2025 after Sahara Reporters disclosed that 16 senior military officers had been arrested and detained over an alleged plan to overthrow President Bola Tinubu‘s administration.

Following independent investigations, this newspaper identified the officers and later published an updated list of 40 suspects, including civilians, and a police officer who, alongside a domestic worker in the Presidential Villa, aided the suspected coup plotter to carry out a reconnaissance of the fortified building.

When the news first broke, the Defence Headquarters neither confirmed nor denied the existence of a coup plot. Instead, it said the officers were being investigated as part of a routine internal process aimed at maintaining discipline and professionalism within the Armed Forces.

The alleged plot nevertheless triggered major changes within the military. The government cancelled the 1 October Independence Day parade and reshuffled the military’s top hierarchy, including the removal of the then Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa. Although Mr Musa was replaced by Mr Oluyede, he returned to government months later as Minister of Defence.

The Defence Headquarters later acknowledged that there had been an alleged plot to oust Mr Tinubu’s government and announced that the implicated serving officers would face military judicial panels.