Suspects in an alleged 2025 coup plot arrive at the Federal High Court in Abuja, on April 22, 2026. Six men pleaded not guilty to treason and terrorism charges over a botched coup plot, Nigeria media reported on April 22, 2026 as the first prosecutions for the alleged 2025 putsch attempt get under way. The government had initially denied the existence of the alleged coup attempt, before announcing in January it had foiled a plan to overthrow the government. If successful, it would have brought an end to a quarter-century of democracy in Africa's most populous country (Photo by Light Oriye Tamunotonye / AFP)
The “inauguration” of the Nigerian military court that will oversee the trial of officers accused of a botched coup plot is under way, a Defence Headquarters spokesman told AFP on Friday, with the justices to be sworn in soon.
The government had initially denied the existence of the alleged putsch attempt late last year, before announcing in January it had foiled a plan to overthrow the government.
If successful, it would have brought an end to a quarter-century of democracy in Africa’s most populous country.
The opening of the court martial proceedings comes as the government-owned News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Friday that more than 30 accused officers were brought to a military facility in the capital Abuja Friday morning.
“Inauguration ongoing,” Major General Samaila Uba told AFP, adding that the inauguration process is a “formal set-up ending with the swearing of the justices.”
The proceedings are happening behind closed doors, NAN reported.
Separately, six civilians, including a retired major general, were charged at the Abuja Federal High Court earlier this week.
They pleaded not guilty.
The charges for the civilians named retired major general Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani.
They are accused of conspiring “with one another to levy war against the State to overawe the President of the Federal Republic”, according to the charging documents, seen by AFP.
The six were also accused of knowing that Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji “and others intended to commit treason” and did not alert authorities.
Ma’aji has been named in previous Nigerian press reports as the “mastermind” of the coup.
The names of the officers being tried in the court martial have not yet been released.
Last year, it was announced that 16 officers were arrested over “issues of indiscipline”.
Despite official denials at the time, sources across the Nigerian government and military told AFP they were arrested over a coup plot.
In January, in a reversal, the military announced it would be trying “a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government”.
Nigeria has seen several military takeovers in its history and spent much of the 20th century under junta rule after its independence from Britain in 1960.
The west African nation transitioned to civilian rule in 1999 and has had a democratic government since.
Shortly after denying the alleged coup plot, President Bola Tinubu reshuffled the country’s top military brass.
