A suspected coup plotter, Zekeri Umoru, has revealed in video evidence played before a Federal High Court in Abuja that plotters discussed cutting off electricity to the Presidential Villa and plotted to recruit insider security and maintenance staff to aid the operation.
A suspected coup plotter, Zekeri Umoru, on Wednesday disclosed that discussions were held regarding switching off the electricity supply to the Presidential Villa in Abuja to facilitate an alleged coup attempt. Umoru, an employee of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc working in the Maintenance Department at the Presidential Villa, made the disclosure in video evidence played before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The fourth defendant stated this in the video while being questioned by members of the Special Investigative Panel (SIP) that initially investigated the high-profile case. Testifying to his immediate reservations during the planning phase, Umoru noted that he warned that such an action would immediately trigger investigations and the detention of workers on duty if such action was carried out.
The video evidence further exposed a systematic attempt by the conspirators to infiltrate the nation’s seat of power by compromising key insider personnel. Umoru alleged that Col. Mohammed Ma’aji, the alleged mastermind behind the coup, offered him financial compensation through Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, the third defendant, to recruit between 18 and 19 persons working inside the Villa. According to his statement to the investigators, those targeted for recruitment included active soldiers, officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), and fellow Julius Berger maintenance staff. He also told the investigators that Ma’aji allegedly said he wanted access into the Presidential Villa and could achieve it “with force,” even if those recruited from inside decline to cooperate.
The judicial proceedings also shed light on the intense financial negotiations and tactical logistics that transpired between the key conspirators before the plot was uncovered. Umoru claimed that Inspector Ibrahim later demanded N100 million from Ma’aji to facilitate the operation through an ambulance route into the Villa, but that Ma’aji refused on the grounds that the amount was excessive. The shocking video playback forms part of the crucial evidence being tendered by the prosecution to establish a case of treasonable felony against the defendants. The trial continues before the Federal High Court as security agencies remain on high alert following the revelations of porous insider vulnerabilities.
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