Today, Wednesday April 22, the federal government arraigned a retired army general and five others over an alleged failed coup against President Bola Tinubu.
The 6 men pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all 13 charges preferred against them before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
They include Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major-general, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain, and Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector.
The rest are Zekeri Umoru, an electrician at the Presidential Villa, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani, who is a Zaria, Kaduna State-based Islamic cleric.
After they entered their plea of not guilty during the proceedings, which did not start until about 1.40 p.m. on Wednesday, the judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.
The judge also fixed 27 April for the hearing of the defendants’ bail application.
Five of the defendants were brought to court by the agents of the State Security Service (SSS). They are to remain in the security agency’s custody pending the hearing and determination of their bail applications. Only Mr Sani, the Islamic cleric to court on his own, a court having previously ordered his unconditional release.
Over 40 individuals, including serving military officers, chief among whom is a serving colonel, Mohammed Ma’aji, are said to have been arrested in connection with the coup since information about the plot leaked in September last year.
Some of the defendants stoutly denied charges when read to them, opting to offer unsolicited explanations in maintaining their innocence beyond merely answering “not guilty”.
The fifth defendant, Mr Goni ,and the sixth, Mr Sani, said in Hausa that they never knew some of the other defendants.
Specifically, Mr Sani said, “I do not even know Mr Gana (the major-general).”
Similarly, when count 10 was read, Mr Goni (the fifth defendant) said he was aware of the sum of N50 million the prosecution claimed was discovered in his account. But he maintained the money could not have been meant for terrorism, as alleged in the charges.
Also, Mr Ibrahim said he was not guilty, explaining further that he accepted the N1 million allegedly found in his account from Colonel Ma’aji, a serving military officer alleged to be the arrowhead of the failed coup plot, as a gift. He also said the money was not meant for terrorism financing.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges, including treason, terrorism, failure to disclose information about the alleged coup to relevant authorities and money laundering.
Although not charged as a defendant, the name of Timipre Silva, a former Governor of Bayelsa, appears in seven of the 13 counts. Mr Silva, who served as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources during the immediate-past administration of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, is alleged to be one of the financiers of the failed coup. Five of his aides and domestic workers are being held in custody over the coup allegations.
The charges filed against the six defendants said Mr Sylva is on the run.
The federal government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed the charges on Monday.
The indictment was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
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