Alleged Coup: New Document Shows How Plotters Were Going to Enlist Repentant Boko Haram

According to documents obtained by Premium Times, senior military officers suspected of scheming to topple President Bola Tinubu's administration allegedly thought about enlisting repentant Boko Haram fighters and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to support the operation.

The documents, which are apparently over 7,400 pages long, include bank records, encrypted chat exchanges, purchase receipts, information about hotels allegedly used for covert meetings, statements ascribed to active and former military officers, and civilians connected to the purported scheme.

After 16 active military officers were arrested in September 2025, the purported scheme was discovered. Over the next four months, over forty persons were reportedly arrested, including a police officer and civilians.

At first, the military stated that the officers were under investigation for disobedience and violations of service rules. Later, the Defense Headquarters declared that they would be prosecuted and connected them to a purported coup plot.

While citizens and former military members accused of involvement are being tried at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the serving officers are presently on trial before a General Court-Martial.

Six people were charged with 13 counts by the Federal Government in April for allegedly taking part in the conspiracy.

Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a former major general; Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired naval captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; and Zekeri Umoru, an electrician employed by the Presidential Villa, are the accused.

Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani, an Islamic cleric from Zaria, are two more.

The prosecution's evidence includes statements ascribed to the defendants, but their admissibility is being contested.

The judge ordered a trial-within-trial to decide whether the remarks may be included as evidence after some of the defendants informed the court that they had not made their statements voluntarily.

Officers Reportedly Talked About CJTF Recruitment

According to information in the documents, a suspected collaborator, Major Jamilu Ilyasu, offered to recruit repentant militants and CJTF members to Mohammed Ma'aji, a Nigerian Army colonel who is accused of spearheading the plot.

A voluntary organization funded by the state, the CJTF helps the military fight insurgencies in the Northeast. In Borno State, it is said to have roughly 26,000 members.

Because many of its early members carried sticks, the group was once known as Yan Gora, which means "those with sticks" in Hausa. It began as a community resistance movement against Boko Haram.

However, Ma'aji allegedly informed investigators that the plan to transport the fighters to Abuja was never finalized.

"It was Maj. Iliyasu who brought up the topic of deploying repentant Boko Haram who are currently using their weapons," Ma'aji was quoted as saying.

"I was unaware of the involvement of repentant Boko Haram in our military operations before to today."

After being screened and rehabilitated, certain former combatants from Islamic State West Africa Province and Boko Haram who turned themselves in to the military have reportedly been assigned to limited support tasks.

They belong to the Borno Model, a disarmament, demobilization, deradicalization, and reintegration program created by the Borno State Government, and are frequently referred to as hybrid forces.

"We voiced our concerns over a manpower shortage."

Ma'aji was also cited as saying that during a meeting with Ilyasu in the Northeast, the idea to recruit CJTF members came up.

"The recruiting of CJTF was Iliyasu's idea," he allegedly stated.

Maj. Iliyasu met me when I traveled to the Northeast for a wedding and inquired about the progress of the movement. I bemoaned the lack of personnel. He went on to say that we could use the CJTF that he had operating for 7 Division.

In response to inquiries regarding a purported scheme to use homemade explosives, Ma'aji allegedly stated that Ilyasu was also the source of the idea.

He was cited as adding, "If there was any conversation about IED, it was Maj. Iliyasu who indicated he had some Boko Haram technicians working in the theatre to construct IED, but I told him that would not be necessary."

Ilyasu apparently acknowledged implying the involvement of CJTF members in his own statement, but he did not address accusations regarding the recruiting of repentant Boko Haram terrorists.

"When Col. Ma'aji came for the wedding in Maiduguri, I was the one who suggested at the concept of the necessity to recruit members of CJTF," Ilyasu said.

"Col. Ma'aji excused me from his hotel room and inquired about the prospect of joining CJTF. I said that I only knew Saminu, and he advised me to contact him."

A CJTF member was allegedly contacted by a major

According to reports, Ilyasu claimed to have previously collaborated with Ali, a CJTF member, while he was serving with 212 Battalion in the North-East.

"When I went to 7 Division, he, Ali, maintained in touch that he needed to know where he and his boys would be working, and I assured him I had a mission for him," the statement said.

"To reassure Col. Ma'aji that I was getting lads, I forwarded my voice discussion with CJTF Ali to him when he called to ask about receiving the CJTFs."

It is still unclear why CJTF members and repentant insurgents were purportedly sought out.

However, the quotes ascribed to Ma'aji and Ilyasu implied that they thought the fighters were valuable because some of them had combat experience and already had weapons issued for counter-insurgency operations.

The quantity of firearms owned by civilian volunteers engaged in counter-insurgency activities is not listed in any publicly accessible database.

However, a study funded by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research found that roughly 55,000 civilian volunteers combating rebels in Borno State possessed about 25,000 firearms.

Eric Berman, the researcher, recognized the Kesh Kesh, the Borno State Hunters Association, and the CJTF.

The Vigilante Group and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria are significant volunteer security groups that operate in Borno and other Northeastern regions.

The study found that the gangs possessed pump-action shotguns, hunting rifles, locally made firearms, and occasionally assault rifles that were retrieved from rebels.

Berman questioned whether citizen volunteers were armed in accordance with current guns legislation, as well as the management and documentation of the weapons.

He calculated that state and federal authorities had probably temporarily given some volunteer security troops roughly 10,000 recovered firearms, the majority of which were assault rifles.

In order to minimize misuse and diversion, the researcher suggested that firearms given to volunteer organizations be uniquely identified and placed into a centralized, secure database.

Defendants Contest Interrogation Videos and Statements

In the meantime, the defendants on trial before the Federal High Court and the General Court-Martial are still able to contest the comments ascribed to them.

The admissibility of video recordings made during their interrogation has also been contested by the six defendants facing prosecution at the Federal High Court.

They claimed that when gathering the statements and recordings, detectives did not follow the correct protocol.

However, the prosecution insisted that due process was followed in obtaining the evidence and asked the court to reject the objections.