Investigators have identified Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji, a former security adviser to ex-minister Timipre Sylva, as the alleged coordinator of the recent failed coup attempt in Nigeria.
According to TheCable reporting, Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji, described by investigators as the coordinator of the alleged botched coup to overthrow Nigeria’s democracy, once served as a security adviser to Timi Sylva during the 2015 Bayelsa governorship election.
Investigators recently searched Sylva’s Abuja residences, while his current whereabouts remain unclear. Julius Bokoru, Sylva’s media aide, has denied any connection between his principal and the alleged plot, calling him “an unrepentant and thoroughbred democrat” who supports President Bola Tinubu.
Ma’aji, reportedly “very close” to Sylva, oversaw security operations for the former governor during the December 5, 2015 election, which Sylva lost to PDP’s Seriake Dickson.
Ma’aji, born in 1976 in Niger State, was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 2000 and became a colonel in 2017 after completing the Policy, Strategy, and Leadership Course at NIPSS, Kuru.
Military sources said Ma’aji is accused of recruiting junior officers and financing logistics for the failed coup, sparking speculation that he was funded by political allies. He has allegedly refused to cooperate with investigators, though several junior officers have made “significant statements.”
Searches of his home reportedly uncovered financial and property records belonging to him and his wife.
Ma’aji previously commanded the 19 Battalion in Ondo and served in Delta State’s “Operation Delta Safe” until his arrest.