Failed Coup: Presidential Villa Worker Admits Role in Alleged 2025 Plot to Overthrow Bola Tinubu Government

Zekeri Umoru, one of the defendants on trial in the purported attempt to overthrow President Bola Tinubu government by force, has acknowledged that he participated in the 2025 coup attempt within the Presidential Villa. The fourth accused, Umoru, who worked with Julius Berger Nigeria in the Presidential Villa’s maintenance department, said that Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim of the Presidential Clinic had coerced him into the coup attempt.

In a video recording of his extrajudicial statement regarding the coup attempt, Umoru described how he first got in touch with those who would eventually be identified as important players in the conspiracy in May 2025 through Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, the third defendant, who worked at the Presidential Clinic.

Under the guise of offering him electrical employment at a building under construction, he informed investigators, Inspector Ibrahim brought him to a guy called Hassan Mohammed, whom he later recognised as Colonel Mohammed “Ma’aji.”

Umoru claimed that after receiving money transfers in Ma’aji’s name, he first thought he was a civilian businessman.

The defendant described several occasions in which Colonel Ma’aji gave him money, sometimes while Ibrahim was there. Additionally, he detailed multiple visits from Ma’aji and another associate, Usman, whom he subsequently learned were members of the armed forces.

He informed the court that after purchasing drinks and asking about their occupations, Ma’aji handed him and his companions between 100,000 and 120,000 during one meeting at a place known as ‘Tiger Bar’.

The video claims that on September 24, 2025, Ma’aji gave him a “Ghana Must Go” bag filled with money in a more substantial transaction.

Umoru claimed to have deposited the funds at a Zenith Bank branch, where they were valued at N8.8 million.

He added in his testimony that when he and Inspector Ibrahim saw Ma’aji again the next day, he was paid an extra N2 million and told that Ibrahim would provide him with more information later.

Investigators were informed by Umoru that he later became uneasy about the money’s constant flow and asked Ibrahim to explain.

Ibrahim asserted that Ma’aji was unhappy with the status of the nation and intended to “sanitise the government,” purportedly with the help of anonymous acquaintances referred to as “boys.”

He further claimed that, in anticipation of financial benefit, Ibrahim proposed a scheme utilising an ambulance driver to enable entry into the Presidential Villa.

Umoru, however, stated in the video that he never intentionally took part in any scheme and that he was unaware of any specific strategy.

Additionally, the defendant recounted an instance in which he led Usman into the Presidential Villa. He claimed that once he told the gate guards that the guest was there to meet him, they were not questioned.

He claimed that after discovering Usman taking pictures in his workplace, he cautioned him against doing so.

Umoru insisted that Ibrahim had deceived him and denied knowing of any coup plot throughout the entire session.

He claimed that if he had realised Ma’aji was a military officer or had any intentions other than business, he would have cut ties with him.

In addition, Umoru apologised to his employers and reaffirmed his support for President Tinubu’s government.

The court also watched a different video featuring Sheikh Imam Kassim Goni, an Islamic preacher who claimed to have fled the Maiduguri insurgency and moved to Karu in Abuja.

Goni informed investigators that he received money from Colonel Ma’aji only for prayers and charity purposes, including requests for spiritual intervention after purported obstacles in advancement. Goni denied any role in the coup plot.

He insisted that all funds were linked to religious endeavours rather than military or political goals.

Investigators in the film, however, highlighted differences between his statements and financial documents, showing that money had been sent to him as early as March 2023— months prior to the purported promotion problems he mentioned.

Additional documents revealed transactions of millions of naira, including a payment of N10 million in October 2024.

Although both people denied any knowledge of a coup attempt, the investigators stated that conversations mentioned in the recordings, such as comments about obtaining access and obtaining “work tools,” prompted suspicions about a larger operation.

Senior Advocate Michael Numa, the sixth defendant’s attorney, informed the court after the playback of the video-recorded extrajudicial statement that he had just received his client’s video exhibits and that he needed more time to examine them.

After upon, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik postponed the trial till May 11, 12, and 13.