Fresh details have emerged in the ongoing treason trial involving an alleged plot against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as one of the defendants told the court he handled millions of naira in cash linked to a key suspect.
Zekari Umoru, an employee of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc working at the Presidential Villa, said he received and deposited N8.8 million allegedly handed to him by a man later identified as “Col. Mohammed Ma’aji.”
The claim was contained in a video recording of his extra-judicial statement played before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.
How the N8.8m was handled
The Federal Government is prosecuting six suspects in connection with the alleged plot through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The defendants, including Umoru, were arraigned on April 22 on a 13-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026 and are currently standing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the video, Umoru told investigators that on September 24, 2025, he was given a “Ghana-Must-Go” bag filled with cash by Ma’aji.
He said he subsequently deposited the money at a branch of Zenith Bank, where it was counted and confirmed to total N8.8 million.
According to him, the transaction was carried out without any clear explanation of the source or intended purpose of the funds.
Umoru added that the following day, he and another defendant, Ahmed Ibrahim, met again with Ma’aji, who allegedly handed over an additional N2 million. He said Ibrahim was expected to later clarify what the money was meant for.
The defendant told the court that the repeated flow of cash eventually raised concerns, prompting him to question Ibrahim about the nature of their dealings with Ma’aji.
He alleged that Ibrahim responded by saying Ma’aji was dissatisfied with the state of the country and intended to “sanitise the government” with the support of unnamed associates.
Umoru said this explanation increased his unease, but insisted he was never informed of any concrete plan to overthrow the government.
Maintaining his innocence, Umoru told investigators he initially believed Ma’aji to be a civilian businessman, noting that financial transfers he received bore the name Hassan Mohammed.
He said he only later became aware of alleged military links.
Throughout the recorded statement, Umoru denied involvement in any coup plot, insisting that he had been misled by Ibrahim and would have distanced himself had he known the full context of the activities.
