Nigerian Army Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji has revealed why he allegedly became involved in a plot to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government, citing insecurity, corruption, economic hardship and concerns over the welfare of military personnel.

Premium Times reported how the alleged plot was discussed, funded and later revived before security agencies disrupted it in September 2025.

Ma’aji is among several serving military officers currently facing proceedings before a General Court Martial over the alleged plot. Six retired military personnel and civilians are also being prosecuted separately before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

All the defendants have denied wrongdoing.

In a statement attributed to Ma’aji during interrogation, he said discussions about military intervention began in 2023, towards the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

According to his account, the discussions were driven by concerns over the worsening security situation, corruption, poor governance and growing economic difficulties in the country.

Ma’aji said he and others believed Nigeria was heading towards a dangerous situation and began identifying military officers who shared their concerns about the state of the nation.

He said the initial plan did not progress because the group lacked sufficient funds, manpower and logistics.

The colonel reportedly said he personally financed some of the activities by selling properties and receiving contributions from members.

He allegedly sold three houses in Kaduna State and a student hostel at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to raise funds for activities linked to the group.

Failed Promotion and Revival of Alleged Plot

The alleged movement was later revived after Ma’aji failed to secure promotion to brigadier general for the second time in 2024.

He said some officers contacted him following the failed promotion and urged him to revive the plan.

Lieutenant Colonel Shamsuddeen Bappah was identified as one of the officers who allegedly pushed for the revival.

According to the documents, Bappah travelled from Ibadan to Abuja to meet Ma’aji and discuss the matter.

He was also reportedly considering selling a plot of land in Bauchi to raise funds, although the property was not eventually sold.

Following the alleged revival, meetings were held at different locations in Abuja, including Brookville Hotel and Greenland Hotel in Lokogoma.

Ma’aji said the meetings involved some officers who had participated in the earlier discussions, while additional individuals were also introduced.

He, however, denied that his failed promotion was the main reason for the alleged plan.

Instead, he cited several national policies and challenges, including the removal of fuel subsidy, naira reforms, taxation, electricity tariffs, corruption and insecurity.

He also referred to the #EndSARS and #EndBadGovernance protests, saying the demonstrations reflected the level of frustration among Nigerians over unemployment, economic hardship and poor living conditions.

Concerns Over Military Welfare

Ma’aji also raised concerns about the welfare of members of the armed forces.

He reportedly complained about military salaries, the treatment of wounded soldiers, housing, healthcare and the condition of retired personnel.

He said he was particularly concerned about soldiers who sustained injuries during military operations and were allegedly left without adequate support.

The documents further revealed allegations that the group attempted to recruit more officers, soldiers and civilians.

Some individuals were reportedly approached through existing relationships, while meetings were allegedly used to discuss possible roles within the movement.

Ma’aji also spoke about an alleged proposal to mobilise members of the Civilian Joint Task Force from the North-East.

He said the idea was to bring some of the personnel to Abuja, although the plan was not fully developed.

No Fixed Date for Alleged Coup

Ma’aji maintained that there was no fixed date for the alleged coup because the group was still trying to secure additional resources and recruit more personnel.

According to his account, the alleged operation was expected to take place at night and involved plans to place some senior military officials under arrest.

However, he said preparations had not reached the point of execution when security agencies intervened.

Ma’aji named several serving and retired officers while discussing the alleged movement. He also denied the involvement of some people mentioned during the investigation, saying certain officers had merely been informed about the discussions.

Arrest and Court Proceedings

The alleged plot came under security investigation after Ma’aji was arrested on September 29, 2025, shortly before the Federal Government cancelled the October 1 Independence Day parade.

He was subsequently interrogated between October 18, 2025, and February 19, 2026, according to records cited in the investigation.

The Defence Headquarters initially described the detention of the officers as an internal process aimed at maintaining discipline within the military.

It later confirmed that an alleged plot had been uncovered and said officers found culpable would face military judicial proceedings.

By February, about 40 serving and retired military personnel, police officers and civilians had reportedly been arrested or questioned in connection with the investigation.

In April, the Federal Government filed 13 charges against six defendants before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Those charged include retired Major-General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Presidential Villa electrician Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Islamic cleric Abdulkadir Sani.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.

Several serving officers, including Ma’aji, are facing separate court-martial proceedings.

The admissibility of statements obtained during the investigation has also become an issue in the cases.

Some defendants have challenged the statements attributed to them, arguing that they were not made voluntarily.

The prosecution has rejected the claims, maintaining that proper procedures were followed.

The court consequently ordered a trial-within-trial to determine whether the disputed statements were made voluntarily before deciding whether they could be admitted as evidence.

Sylva Denies Funding Allegation

Meanwhile, former Bayelsa State governor Timipre Sylva has denied allegations that he financed the alleged plot.

Sylva, who served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under Buhari, said through his spokesperson that he had no involvement in planning or providing logistics for any coup attempt.

Five people linked to him are facing separate charges over allegations that they concealed his whereabouts, while nine properties associated with him are under an interim forfeiture order.

The allegations contained in Ma’aji’s statement remain subject to judicial proceedings, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the courts.

The Kano Emirate Council has dismissed as false a viral video alleging that Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II obtained a carry-over in one of his law courses at Northwest University, Kano.

The video, which circulated widely on social media platforms on Sunday, purportedly suggested that the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor had failed to meet the academic requirements for one of his courses.

Sanusi is currently enrolled as a 200-level undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) programme in Common Law and Sharia at the university.

However, Muhammad Ado, Secretary in the Office of the Emir, described the claim as untrue, insisting that the Emir remained on course to graduate with a first-class degree.

According to Ado, the Emirate’s records showed that Sanusi needed only one additional point to attain a first-class grade.

“We attended a programme organised by Law Students in the university on Saturday, and a student took the video. But it’s not true.

“In our calculations, it remains only one point for the Emir to attain first class. Sunday Dare was a visiting lecturer at the programme,” Ado said.

A student of the university, Ibrahim Abubakar-Danmasani, also dismissed the claim, saying examinations at the institution had not commenced as of Sunday.

He said the examinations were expected to begin on Monday.

Sources within the university also corroborated the position of the Emirate Council, saying the viral video did not reflect the Emir’s actual academic standing.

The sources attributed the video to some youths who allegedly recorded and circulated it as a prank.

The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, has dismissed concerns over the alleged lavish lifestyles of public officials.Adedeji said President Bola Tinubu does not live extravagantly despite his position.

He stated this during an interview with Channels Television, on Sunday, where he was questioned by journalist Seun Okinbaloye about the lifestyles of political office holders amid the economic challenges confronting Nigerians.

The discussion comes amid public debate over government spending and the lifestyles of political leaders, particularly as Nigerians continue to contend with rising living costs and economic pressures.

Responding to questions about the President’s movements and reported use of luxury vehicles, Adedeji claimed that Tinubu usually walks from his residence to his office and only uses a vehicle when travelling to the airport.

He also said the President eats only once daily and had not travelled outside Nigeria in the past three months.

When asked about the number of Escalades reportedly attached to Tinubu’s convoy, Adedeji challenged the premise of the question, arguing that the President could afford such vehicles.

He said, “Mr President goes from home to office on foot, not even driving except when he is going to the airport. I don’t know where you see the convoy. Before he became president, what is he riding?

“How much is an Escalade that the president of Nigeria cannot afford? Please don’t embarrass this country.“What is living large?

In the last months, he has not even left the shores of this country, trekking and working. If you go there now, you will see him review one document or the other.“So what is living large?

The president eats once in a day. How many parties have you seen him at in the last three years? Tell me where you have seen him, whether on holiday or anywhere?”
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Former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly and APC House of Representatives candidate for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms are delivering measurable results, dismissing recent criticisms by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a “frozen snapshot taken at the hardest moment of reform.”

In an article titled “Facts Over Fiction and Fear: Why Tinubu’s Reforms Are Working for Nigeria,” Orji argued that the administration’s economic reset has produced tangible improvements across key indicators, including GDP, debt servicing, government revenue and fiscal capacity at the subnational level.

He noted that dollar-denominated GDP, which fell to about $253 billion in the immediate aftermath of the exchange-rate reset, has since recovered to approximately $377 billion — a roughly 49 percent increase from the trough. In naira terms, he said GDP had expanded from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to around ₦530 trillion.

“No one pretended these reforms would be painless. They were sold as necessary structural corrections to distortions that built up over decades, including the years 1999 to 2007 when warnings about subsidy and fiscal leakages were ignored. The difference now is that government finally acted instead of postponing,” Orji wrote.

On debt, the former Speaker said Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at about 40 percent, which he compared with South Africa at 85 percent, Egypt at 80 percent and Kenya at 75 percent. He also noted that the debt-service-to-revenue ratio had fallen from nearly 100 percent in December 2022 to below 60 percent today.

“Debt in itself is not the measure of health. What matters is the size of the economy, revenue capacity, cost of servicing, and what the money is used for,” he stated.

Orji said borrowing under the Tinubu administration is tied to productive sectors and infrastructure, including roads, rail, power, healthcare and education.

He described the removal of the petrol subsidy as one of the administration’s most significant structural reforms, arguing that the policy had become fiscally unsustainable. According to him, the resulting increase in Federation Account allocations has given states and local governments greater fiscal space to invest in roads, schools, hospitals, salaries, pensions and other public services.

He also defended the administration’s tax reforms, saying the design protects people earning ₦1 million and below per annum and small businesses with turnover of ₦100 million and below, while expanding the contribution of higher-income individuals and profitable enterprises.

Orji highlighted progress in healthcare, education and infrastructure as evidence of increased public investment. He said more than 3,000 Primary Healthcare Centres had been revitalised, over 78,000 frontline health workers retrained, and over 100 public facilities expanded to provide free caesarean sections for eligible indigent mothers. He also cited three world-class cancer centres now operational in Kubwa, Enugu and Katsina, alongside additional state-level cancer facilities.

In education, he noted that the Universal Basic Education Commission had embarked on more than 11,000 projects to rehabilitate schools and expand technical and vocational training. He said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had disbursed more than ₦303 billion to over 1.64 million students across 300 institutions.

“For the first time in a long while, students are not losing a year to strikes. A four-year course is finishing in four years,” he wrote.

On infrastructure, Orji pointed to ongoing federal highways, bridges, rail modernisation, power transmission projects, airport redevelopment and digital connectivity as components of the government’s broader economic strategy.

On inflation, Orji acknowledged Nigerians continue to face pressure but said the trajectory shows improvement. He noted inflation fell to 14.4 percent in November 2025, rose to 15.91 percent amid global shocks, and is projected to decline toward 12 percent by year end.

He also challenged claims of an alleged ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall, arguing that crude oil revenue cannot be calculated simply by multiplying prices by production. He said production levels, operating costs, government and company shares, and loan obligations must be considered.

To cushion the adjustment, Orji said the Federal Government has rolled out intervention programmes including cash transfers and community-based initiatives in healthcare, education and social protection.

While acknowledging that Nigeria is not yet where it aspires to be, Orji maintained that important structural distortions have now been confronted.

“Let us be honest. Nigeria is not yet where we aspire to be. But we are also not where we were at the height of subsidy waste, multiple exchange rates, and revenue leakage,” Orji wrote.

He said the ultimate test of the reforms should be stronger revenues, lower debt-service pressure, improved infrastructure, and better access to education and healthcare.

“A mature national conversation should examine outcomes, not slogans,” he stated.

Orji concluded that the most difficult phase of the adjustment occurred in 2023 and 2024 and that Nigeria had now entered a recovery phase.

“History will not remember us for how popular a decision was on the day it was taken. It will remember whether the decision strengthened the nation. Nigerians need facts, not fabrications.”

MTN Nigeria has warned subscribers against fraudulent 25GB anniversary giveaway offers circulating online, urging customers to rely only on the company’s official platforms to access the promotion.

The telecommunications giant issued the warning through its support account on X on Saturday, cautioning subscribers against clicking suspicious links, sharing personal information or making payments on unauthorised platforms claiming to offer the anniversary data bundle.

MTN said the genuine 25GB anniversary giveaway is available exclusively through the MyMTN NG App and the MTN eShop.

The company stated: “Please beware of fake MTN 25th Anniversary 25GB giveaway offers circulating online.

“The official MTN 25GB Anniversary Giveaway is available ONLY via the MyMTN NG App and MTN eShop.

“Do not click on links, share your personal information or make payments on any other platform claiming to offer the giveaway.

“Only trust official MTN channels.”

In a separate message, MTN explained how eligible subscribers can redeem the offer, directing customers to log into the MyMTN App and select “Redeem Now” on the anniversary banner or access the promotion through the MTN eShop.

“To access the 25GB offer, kindly visit the MyMTN App or the MTN E-Shop and follow the prompts to activate the bundle, if you are eligible for the offer,” the company said.

It added: “You may also click on the link contained in the SMS notification you received regarding the offer.”

MTN urged subscribers to verify promotional messages and information through its official communication channels before taking any action.

The company also said the 25GB free data bundle would remain valid until 11:59pm on the stated expiry date, advising eligible customers to redeem the offer before the validity period ends.

The warning follows the circulation of various online posts and links purporting to offer free MTN data as part of the company’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Subscribers have consequently been advised to avoid unauthorised websites and platforms that request personal information, payments or other sensitive details in exchange for the purported giveaway.