Nigeria: Exclusive - Coup Suspect Reveals His Alleged Drafting to Recruit Financiers and What Followed

What the report says

Premium Times, published via AllAfrica from Abuja on 5 August 2026, reported new details from interrogation records tied to the alleged 2025 failed coup against President Bola Tinubu’s government. The report focuses on Erasmus Victor, a retired naval captain and former local government chairman in Rivers State, who is among six defendants on trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Victor said he knew of the alleged plot but claimed he repeatedly warned the alleged mastermind, Army Colonel Mohammed Ma'aji, not to proceed.

According to the records cited by Premium Times, Victor acknowledged private conversations with Ma'aji, including discussions through the encrypted app Zangi. He said Ma'aji asked him to help find wealthy backers for the plan and mentioned possible names, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, although Victor said he never contacted anyone and did not support the plot. He also told investigators that he became increasingly suspicious that the effort might be a scam rather than a viable coup.

The article adds context from earlier reporting in the Premium Times series, which has described investigators’ allegations that the suspected plot involved assassinations of top officials and assigned roles such as reconnaissance, logistics, propaganda, and fundraising. Premium Times also said other suspects expressed doubts about Ma'aji’s ability to finance and execute the operation. The new disclosures matter because they show how investigators say the alleged network tried to recruit support and how at least one accused participant portrays his own role as reluctant and noncommittal.