Nigeria's suspected coup plotters deny treason charges

Six people, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, have pleaded not guilty to plotting a coup to overthrow Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu. The defendants appeared at the Federal High Court in the capital, Abuja, where they were ordered to remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria's domestic spy agency. A seventh person - a former governor and one-time oil minister, Timipre Sylva - has also been named as a conspirator but court documents said he was still at large. Rumours of the coup plot surfaced when the government abruptly cancelled a planned military parade to mark Nigeria's 65th Independence Anniversary on 1 October 2025. At the time, officials cited security threats - but speculation quickly linked the cancellation to a possible coup plot. The military initially denied the reports, but in January it announced that 16 officers were to be tried before a military court for attempting to oust the president. Those to go on trial at the Federal High Court on charges of treason, terrorism and money laundering are civilians or retired military personnel alleged to have been part of the plot. Sylva, who served as petroleum min