Nigeria: Exclusive - Why I Planned Coup Against Tinubu - Colonel Ma'aji

What the report says

AllAfrica carried a Premium Times report on a purported coup plot against Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, centered on statements attributed to Army Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji. The article says Premium Times obtained confidential documents and interview records tied to the alleged 2025 conspiracy, which was said to have led to arrests, interrogations and later court proceedings involving serving and retired military officers as well as civilians. The report places the events in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria, with the alleged plot uncovered in late September 2025 and the story published on 10 August 2026.

According to the article, Ma’aji told military investigators that the idea of intervention began in 2023 amid worsening insecurity, corruption and discontent in the country, and that the effort later revived in 2024 after he failed promotion to brigadier general. The report says he described fundraising and logistics problems, including personal assets he said were sold to support the effort, while other officers were said to have contributed money or sought to help sustain the plan. The allegations remain part of the wider case under investigation and trial.

The Defence Headquarters was initially quoted as framing the arrests as an internal disciplinary process, but the report says it later acknowledged that a coup case existed and that indicted officers would face military judicial panels. The story also notes that the arrests prompted the cancellation of Nigeria’s 1 October Independence Day parade and changes in the military leadership. The account matters because it points to rare allegations of coup plotting in a country with a long history of military interventions, while several legal questions about the evidence are still being contested in court.