Alleged Coup Plot: DSS Arraigns Five Over Concealment of Ex-Gov Timipre Sylva

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five alleged associates of former Bayelsa State Governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, over allegations that they concealed his whereabouts after he was declared wanted in connection with an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The five defendants—Reuben Ayuba, Musa Mohammed, Friday Paul, Paganengigha Anagaha, and Ayebaifie Suobite—were arraigned before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and allegedly concealing the whereabouts of a fugitive.

According to the DSS, the defendants became accessories after the alleged offence by concealing Sylva’s whereabouts on or about April 28, 2026, despite allegedly knowing that he had been declared wanted by the Federal Government.

The security agency alleged that the defendants committed offences contrary to Sections 516 and 519 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004.

When the charges were read in court, all five defendants pleaded not guilty.

Following their pleas, counsel to the DSS, Emmanuel Orubor, urged the court to remand the defendants and fix a date for trial, stating that the prosecution was prepared to call witnesses to establish its case.

READ ALSO:

• MURIC Commends NSCIA Over Appointment of Abbas Jimoh as Spokesperson
• Presidency Dismisses Allegation Against Gbajabiamila, Says Accuser Is an ‘Impostor’ Facing Trial
• Obasanjo Warns Some Causes of Nigeria’s 1967 Civil War Still Persist

However, defence lawyers, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Sunusi Musa, alongside Ibrahim Imadegbelo, I.G. Kelubia, and E.C. Sogo, applied for bail on behalf of their clients.

The defence informed the court that the defendants had remained in DSS custody since October 25, 2025, and urged Justice Lifu to admit them to bail on liberal terms pending the determination of the case.

In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that the offences contained in the charge are bailable and consequently admitted each defendant to ₦5 million bail, with two sureties in like sum.

The court directed that each surety must depose to an affidavit of means, provide evidence of payment of tax for the preceding three years, demonstrate a legitimate source of income, submit recent passport photographs, and undergo verification by the court registrar.

Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, Justice Lifu ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

The matter was subsequently adjourned until July 22, 2026, for the commencement of trial.

One of the charges alleged that the defendants concealed the whereabouts of Timipre Sylva, whom the DSS described as “a fugitive of the law,” thereby becoming accessories after the commission of a felony.

The arraignment forms part of a broader investigation into an alleged coup plot against the administration of President Bola Tinubu. According to court filings, security agencies allege that Sylva fled Nigeria before details of the investigation became public and was subsequently declared wanted.

Authorities have also initiated legal proceedings seeking the forfeiture of some properties allegedly linked to the former governor as part of the ongoing investigation.

The allegations against Sylva and the five defendants remain before the court. Under Nigerian law, they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The case is expected to attract significant public attention as the Federal Government continues its investigation into the alleged coup plot and related offences.

Alleged Coup Plot: DSS Arraigns Five Over Concealment of Ex-Gov Timipre Sylva

Presidency Dismisses Allegation Against Gbajabiamila, Says Accuser Is an ‘Impostor’ Facing Trial

The Presidency has dismissed allegations linking the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to bribery or the appointment of the head of a purported presidential agency, describing the claims as false and the accuser as an impostor currently facing criminal prosecution.

In a statement issued on July 1, 2026, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Office of the Chief of Staff had, as far back as October 2025, alerted security agencies to the activities of Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, whom it accused of impersonation, forgery and operating a fictitious government agency.

According to the Presidency, Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, using forged appointment letters purportedly issued in the name of the Chief of Staff.

The statement explained that the Office of the Chief of Staff first raised the alarm after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) reported that another organisation was operating as though it were a legitimate federal agency.

On October 17, 2025, Gbajabiamila’s office formally petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force, requesting an investigation into individuals allegedly forging presidential appointment letters and impersonating government officials.

READ ALSO:

• Obasanjo Warns Some Causes of Nigeria’s 1967 Civil War Still Persist
• Police Arrest 12 Suspected Kidnappers, Cultists, Rescue Three Victims in Imo
• 2027: INEC Unveils Downloadable PVCs, Online Voter Registration

According to the petition, the suspects allegedly used forged documents bearing fake signatures, official seals and reference numbers to create the impression that the agency had presidential backing. The Presidency said the group also held meetings with foreign diplomats and Nigerian stakeholders and even sought a diplomatic note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for its members.

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi

The statement further revealed that before the petition to security agencies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had written to both the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Office of the Chief of Staff seeking clarification about Adeyemi’s status.

The ministry’s inquiry followed a meeting allegedly organised by Adeyemi with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Abuja on October 10, 2025, without notifying or involving the ministry. According to the ministry, the meeting violated established diplomatic protocols.

Subsequently, the Office of the National Security Adviser contacted the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), which also sought clarification from the Chief of Staff regarding the purported appointment.

The Presidency said Gbajabiamila categorically denied appointing Adeyemi or authorising the creation of the agency, stressing that appointments of that nature fall within the constitutional responsibilities of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not the Chief of Staff.

Police later arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at an office located within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he allegedly operated the fake agency. Searches conducted at his office and residence in Suleja, Niger State, reportedly led to the recovery of forged documents and other exhibits linked to the alleged operation.

During interrogation, Adeyemi reportedly claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in obtaining the forged appointment letter. However, investigators later established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja on October 22, 2025, several days before Adeyemi’s arrest.

According to the Presidency, police investigations concluded that the agency Adeyemi claimed to head never existed and that he forged appointment letters and other official documents to impersonate a presidential appointee.

Investigators also alleged that he fraudulently opened 34 bank accounts, including nine in the names of fictitious organisations such as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP).

The police further alleged that Adeyemi used forged documents to open a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account after misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. Authorities, however, said no government funds were transferred into the account.

Police reportedly concluded that Adeyemi’s actions amounted to forgery, criminal impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, adding that the alleged activities brought the Presidency into disrepute.

Based on the outcome of the investigation, police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two other suspects at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 27, 2025. The case is scheduled to resume on July 27, 2026.

The Presidency noted that although Adeyemi was granted police bail, he later resurfaced with fresh allegations claiming that Gbajabiamila personally appointed him to head the fictitious agency. It described the claim as contradictory to the statement he earlier made during police investigations.

Onanuga urged politicians and members of the public not to rely on Adeyemi’s allegations or politicise the matter while the case remains before the court.

He further claimed that Adeyemi has a history of making false representations, recalling that in 2016 he allegedly presented himself as the President-General of the World Youth Organisation, which he claimed was affiliated with the United Nations, before the UN reportedly denied the existence of such an organisation.

“The case of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a clear case of a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public,” the statement read.

The Presidency maintained that the allegations against Femi Gbajabiamila are without merit and urged Nigerians to allow the ongoing judicial process to take its course.

Presidency Dismisses Allegation Against Gbajabiamila, Says Accuser Is an ‘Impostor’ Facing Trial

Obasanjo Warns Some Causes of Nigeria’s 1967 Civil War Still Persist

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that some of the underlying issues that triggered the 1967–1970 Nigerian Civil War remain unresolved, urging Nigerians to learn from history and work collectively to prevent another national conflict.

Obasanjo made the remarks on Wednesday during the presentation of a historical publication titled “Asaba Massacre”, authored by the Isama Ajie of Asaba, Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The former president, who served as a military commander during the civil war, acknowledged his role in the conflict but admitted that he could not provide a personal account of the controversial Asaba Massacre, one of the most debated incidents of the war.

“You know that I was involved in the civil war, but when people talk about the Asaba Massacre, I always confess that I cannot give details of it,” Obasanjo said.

He, however, expressed concern that several of the political, ethnic and institutional issues that contributed to the outbreak of the civil war continue to exist in present-day Nigeria.

“Some of the things that led to the Civil War are still on. Now, how long will this be with us?” he asked.

Obasanjo recalled a conversation with former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, who reportedly warned that Nigeria might not survive another civil war.

READ ALSO:

• Police Arrest 12 Suspected Kidnappers, Cultists, Rescue Three Victims in Imo
• 2027: INEC Unveils Downloadable PVCs, Online Voter Registration
• 2027: Atiku Names Kenneth Okonkwo New Spokesperson

“I was with a colleague when General Yakubu Gowon said, ‘We will not survive a second civil war as a country.’ I believe that we have fought one civil war too many already. So, to say that we will have a second civil war—God forbid,” he said.

He stressed that Nigerians must draw lessons from the country’s history by condemning actions that resulted in unnecessary loss of lives and ensuring such events never recur.

“We condemn what happened that should not have happened, and then make sure that we do everything humanly possible to prevent its recurrence,” he added.

Obasanjo also commended the author for producing what he described as a well-researched historical work supported by eyewitness testimonies, archival records, recorded interviews, audio-visual documentation and established historical scholarship.

According to him, preserving historical records is essential to promoting national reconciliation, accountability and educating future generations.

“We pride ourselves that we preserve the past, we capture the present, and we inspire the future. We capture the past, and this is the past; we want to capture it, we want to know about it,” he stated.

Presenting the publication, Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze said the book documents extensive evidence surrounding the events that unfolded in Asaba, then part of the Mid-West Region, following the entry of federal troops into the town during the civil war in October 1967.

He explained that the publication draws on eyewitness testimonies, archival materials, recorded interviews, audio-visual evidence and other historical records to reconstruct the events.

According to Nduka-Eze, the evidence indicates that civilians were assembled in public places and instructed to demonstrate loyalty to Nigeria by chanting “One Nigeria” before men were separated from women and children.

He alleged that many unarmed male civilians were subsequently killed despite publicly affirming their allegiance to the Nigerian state.

“Compliance with these demands did not secure protection. The sequence, repeated across testimonies, reflects a tragic contradiction in which individuals who openly affirmed their identity and loyalty as Nigerians were nonetheless killed by the same Nigerian State they pledged allegiance to,” he said.

Although historians differ on the exact casualty figures, Nduka-Eze noted that available evidence points to the deaths of more than 1,000 civilians, making the Asaba Massacre one of the deadliest civilian tragedies associated with the Nigerian Civil War.

The Asaba Massacre remains one of the most widely discussed episodes of the civil war. While historians continue to debate aspects of the incident, many agree that it underscores the devastating human cost of the conflict and the importance of preserving historical records for national reflection and reconciliation.

Obasanjo’s remarks come amid ongoing national conversations on national unity, inclusive governance, ethnic relations, justice and restructuring, issues that many observers believe remain central to Nigeria’s political and social development decades after the civil war ended.

Obasanjo Warns Some Causes of Nigeria’s 1967 Civil War Still Persist