Alleged Coup Plot: Detained Colonel Sues FG, Seeks N500m Damages

A serving officer of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji, has taken the Federal Government to the Federal High Court in Abuja over what he described as his prolonged and unlawful detention since September 2025.

In the suit filed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, the officer is seeking his immediate release from detention and N500 million in damages for the alleged violation of his fundamental rights.

The respondents in the case are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Chief of Army Staff, the Nigerian Army, and the Chief of Defence Intelligence.

Through his counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Ma’aji argued that his continued detention for more than six months without being charged before a competent court amounts to a clear violation of his constitutional rights to personal liberty and human dignity.

According to court documents, the military officer was arrested around September 30, 2025, alongside others over allegations of conspiring to overthrow the government.

He maintained that since his arrest, he has remained in detention at a military facility in Abuja without access to his family, legal representatives, or proper medical care.

Ma’aji further alleged that the respondents have failed to arraign him within a reasonable time as required under Sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Among the reliefs sought, the applicant asked the court to declare his continued detention unconstitutional and unlawful, and to order his immediate release from custody.

In the alternative, he requested that the court compel the respondents to arraign him before a competent court within seven days.

He is also demanding N500 million as compensation for the alleged unlawful detention and prolonged incarceration without trial.

An affidavit deposed to by a litigation officer in his lawyer’s chambers stated that the applicant has been held incommunicado since his arrest, despite claims by authorities that investigations into the matter had already been concluded.

The affidavit further noted that no formal charges have been brought against him since his detention began.

As of the time of filing this report, no hearing date had been fixed for the matter.