Since 2023, Mohammed Ma’aji, a Nigerian Army colonel and the alleged leader of a thwarted coup plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, had been seeking promotion to the rank of brigadier general. After missing out twice, he reasoned that if taking his deserved place in the military continued to prove impossible, he should aim at taking the whole country.
Mr Ma’aji told investigators that he started rallying for the coup in 2023, toward the end of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The 50-year-old officer from Niger State mentioned his motives included insecurity and the deplorable conditions of serving and retired soldiers and officers, which he said the military hierarchy failed to address.
Somehow, the mumbling about the plot reached the top of the military leadership.
In 2023, Mr Ma’aji was invited and detained overnight at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on an allegation that some politicians were trying to use him “to disrupt the 2023 general elections.”
Mr Ma’aji said his phone was seized for forensic screening, adding that the allegation was not true.
