The Federal Government has filed a 13 count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva and six others over an alleged plot to wage war against Nigeria and commit acts of terrorism.
Those charged alongside Sylva are retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Victor, serving police inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani. They are expected to be arraigned on Wednesday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. Court documents describe Sylva as being at large.
The charge, filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and signed by Director of Public Prosecutions Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, accuses the defendants of offences including treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security information and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
Prosecutors allege that in 2025 the defendants conspired to undermine the Nigerian state. They are accused of agreeing among themselves to levy war against the state with the intention of overawing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The charge further claims that they had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others but did not alert authorities. It states that despite knowing treason was intended, they failed to give the information promptly to either the President or a peace officer and did not use reasonable efforts to prevent the offence.
Beyond treason, the Federal Government is prosecuting the group for terrorism offences under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022. They are alleged to have conspired to commit acts of terrorism and to have taken part in meetings connected to terrorist activities in a bid to advance a political ideology that could seriously destabilise Nigeria’s constitutional order.
The prosecution also accuses some of the defendants of providing support for terrorism by knowingly and indirectly rendering assistance to facilitate terrorist acts. It alleges that they withheld material intelligence that could have helped prevent terrorism and failed to disclose such information to the relevant agencies as soon as practicable.
Several counts focus on alleged terrorism financing and money laundering. Bukar Kashim Goni is accused of indirectly retaining 50 million naira believed to be proceeds of terrorism financing, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly kept 2 million naira from a similar source.
According to the charge, Zekeri Umoru accepted a cash payment of 10 million naira without going through a financial institution and retained an additional 8.8 million naira suspected to be linked to terrorism financing. Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim is alleged to have taken possession of 1 million naira tied to the same scheme. These counts were brought under the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022.
The defendants are expected to take their pleas when they appear before Justice Abdulmalik, after which the court will set timelines for the trial.
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FG files 13 count treason and terrorism charge against ex minister Timipre Sylva and six others over an alleged 2025 plot to wage war against Nigeria.
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