Nigeria charges six people with treason for plan to overthrow president
Nigeria on Tuesday charged six people with terrorism and treason over an alleged coup attempt intended to overthrow President Bola Tinubu. The six, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, are all in custody.
Issued on: 21/04/2026 - 13:17
1 min Reading time Share By: FRANCE 24
Nigerian authorities have charged six people, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, with terrorism and treason, over an alleged plot to overthrow the president, Bola Tinubu, according to a charge sheet seen by the Associated Press on Tuesday.
The six people accused of treason were all in custody.
A seventh suspect, former Bayelsa state Governor Timpre Sylva, is accused of helping to conceal the plot and is still at large.
The Nigerian government first said it had foiled a coup attempt in January, when it announced that several military officers would stand trial. They were part of a group of 16 military officers arrested in 2025 over what military authorities described as “acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations", which fuelled rumours of a coup plot that the government initially denied.
Africa's most populous nation experienced five coups in the 20th century but has not seen one since it transitioned to democracy in 1999.
The alleged coup plot comes on the heels of a surge in coups and attempted coups in West and Central Africa, the latest in Benin and Guinea-Bissau late last year. The military takeovers, experts say, follow a pattern of disputed elections, constitutional upheaval, security crises and youth discontent.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
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