A presidential villa worker, Zekari Umoru, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was unknowingly drawn into an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of Bola Tinubu, insisting he was misled by one of the accused persons.
Umoru, an employee of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc attached to the maintenance department at the presidential villa, made the disclosure in a recorded extra-judicial statement played before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik during the ongoing treason trial of six suspects.
The fourth defendant said his involvement began in May 2025 after he was introduced by Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector attached to the presidential clinic, to a man identified as Hassan Mohammed, whom he later knew as “Col. Mohammed Ma’aji.”
According to him, he initially believed Ma’aji was a civilian businessman, as financial transfers he received bore the name Hassan Mohammed. He said the alleged mastermind frequently gave him money, sometimes in the presence of Ibrahim.
Umoru recounted a meeting at a location identified as “Tiger Bar,” where Ma’aji allegedly distributed between N100,000 and N120,000 after engaging them in casual conversations about their professions.
The defendant further told investigators that on September 24, 2025, Ma’aji handed him a ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bag filled with cash, which he later deposited in a Zenith Bank branch.
He said the money was counted and confirmed to be N8.8 million, adding that another N2 million was handed over the following day, with Ibrahim expected to explain its purpose.
Umoru said he became suspicious of the repeated payments and confronted Ibrahim, who allegedly revealed that Ma’aji was dissatisfied with the state of the country and planned to “sanitise the government” with the support of unnamed associates.
He also claimed that Ibrahim mentioned a plan involving an ambulance driver who could facilitate access into the presidential villa.
Despite these revelations, Umoru maintained that he had no knowledge of any concrete coup plan and insisted he was deceived.
He narrated how he once helped another associate, identified as Usman, gain entry into the villa, only to later find him taking photographs inside his office—an act he said he immediately stopped.
Throughout the testimony, Umoru denied any involvement in a coup plot, stating he would have distanced himself had he known the true identities and intentions of those involved.
He also apologised to his employers and expressed support for Tinubu’s administration.
The federal government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, is prosecuting six defendants on a 13-count charge bordering on treason. The suspects were arraigned on April 22 and include Ibrahim, Mohammed Gana, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Bukar Kashim Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
