Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji has, for the first time, given a detailed account of the alleged 2025 coup plot he is accused of masterminding, citing poor military remuneration, the removal of the fuel subsidy, endemic corruption, and two failed promotion attempts as the driving grievances behind the scheme.
The 50-year-old officer’s admission, made as he faces court-martial proceedings, offers the clearest picture yet of how the plot took shape. According to his account, the plan was first conceived earlier but was revived in 2024, when he began recruiting disgruntled officers and moving to secure funding for the operation.
Part of that funding, Ma’aji alleged, came from former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, an accusation Sylva has denied. Sylva has since fled and had assets seized in connection with the widening investigation, extending the plot’s scope beyond military personnel into political and financial networks.
Ma’aji is standing trial before a court-martial, while six other individuals linked to the alleged plot face separate civil charges. He has pleaded for a pardon, insisting his actions were driven by patriotism rather than personal ambition.
His confession puts the Tinubu administration’s second year on record as having faced a tangible, high-level security breach, and his grievances over welfare could pile pressure on the federal government to review military salaries and benefits. Analysts say the public nature of the trial offers a measure of transparency that could serve as a deterrent against future military adventurism, even as attention now turns to whether the court-martial will focus purely on punishment or also confront the systemic complaints Ma’aji has raised.
