In the ongoing trial over an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Islamic cleric Sheikh Bukar Kashim Goni claimed that over ₦10 million he received from a military officer was strictly for prayers and religious activities.

The video recording of Goni’s extra-judicial statement was played at the federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday.

The federal government is prosecuting Goni, Muhammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major general; Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a serving police inspector; Zekeri Umoru; and Abdulkadir Sani on a 13-count charge bordering on alleged treason and terrorism.

Ma’aji was mentioned in the charge sheet as a colonel but he was not charged as a defendant.

The defendants were accused of plotting to overthrow the Bola Tinubu administration.

They have pleaded not guilty.

According to NAN, the Islamic cleric, in a video recording played in court, said he relocated to Karu in Abuja after fleeing insurgency in Maiduguri in Borno.

The cleric said the funds from one Ma’aji was strictly for prayers and charitable purposes, including requests for spiritual intervention following an alleged promotion setback.

The investigators queried the cleric on why the funds were transferred to him as early as March 2023, months before the alleged promotion issues he referenced.

The investigators told the cleric that his financial records show transactions running into millions of naira, including a N10 million transfer in October 2024.

ANOTHER VIDEO RECORDING

Another video recording of Umoru’s extra-judicial statement was played in court.

Umoru served in the maintenance department of the presidential villa in Abuja as an employee of Julius Berger Nigeria.

Umoru told investigators how he was contacted by an individual later identified as key figures in the case, through the 3rd defendant, Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector attached to the Presidential Clinic in Abuja.

The defendant said Ibrahim introduced him to a man called Hassan Mohammed, who he later identified as “Col. Mohammed Ma’aji”, on the pretext of offering him electrical work at a building under construction.

The defendant said he initially thought Ma’aji was a civilian businessman.

He said he received money transfers from Ma’aji multiple times even in the presence of Ibrahim.

He added that he met with Ma’aji and another associate, Usman, who he discovered was a military officer, on numerous occasions.

The defendant told investigators that on September 24, 2025, Ma’aji allegedly handed Umoru a ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bag containing cash.

The Julius Berger employee said he deposited the money at a branch of Zenith Bank, where it was counted as N8.8 million.

He told investigators that when he became uncomfortable with the continuous flow of money from Ma’aji, he asked Ibrahim for clarification.

The defendant said Ibrahim told him that Ma’aji was dissatisfied with the state of the country and was planning to “sanitise the government”, allegedly with the support of unnamed associates described as “boys”.

He further alleged that Ibrahim suggested a plan involving an ambulance driver to facilitate access into the presidential villa, with expectations of financial gain.

In the video, the defendant said he was unaware of any concrete plan to overthrow the government and insisted that his participation was unintentional.

Joyce Abdulmalik, the trial judge, adjourned further hearing to May 11, May 12 and May 13.

Following renewed xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to revoke the operating licenses of South African-owned companies in Nigeria, specifically MTN and DStv (MultiChoice).

Speaking during a Senate plenary Oshiomhole argued for a policy of reciprocity in international relations, stating, “If you hit me, I hit you”.

“I don’t want this Senate to be shedding tears to sympathise with those who have died. We didn’t come here to share tears,” he said. “If you hit me, I’ll hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It’s an economic struggle.”

The former Edo State governor proposed that Nigeria should nationalise MTN and withdraw its operating licence, arguing that the company repatriates substantial revenue while Nigerians face hostility in South Africa.

“This Senate should adopt a position that MTN, a South African company that is taking away millions of dollars from Nigeria every day, should have Nigeria nationalise it and withdraw its licence,” he stated.

Oshiomhole also extended the call to MultiChoice, urging the Federal Government to revoke DStv’s licence over what he described as exploitative practices.

“I call on the Federal Government to revoke DStv, which is also a South African company that is taking away millions of dollars,” he added.

According to him, such measures would serve as a deterrent and create opportunities for indigenous businesses, amid what he described as sustained economic and social targeting of Nigerians in South Africa.

The senator linked recurring xenophobic tensions to domestic political dynamics in South Africa, noting that anti-immigrant rhetoric has increasingly shaped public attitudes toward foreign nationals.

“When we hit back, the president of South Africa will recognise that Nigerians cannot be intimidated,” he said.

Oshiomhole made the remarks while contributing to a motion sponsored by Osita Izunaso and presented on the floor by Aniekan Bassey under matters of urgent public importance.

Titled “A call for urgent national diplomatic and humanitarian action to defend the dignity, safety and honour of Nigerian citizens,” the motion highlighted growing concerns over the safety of Nigerians in South Africa.

Also speaking, Senator Victor Umeh described the situation as alarming, warning that Nigerians in South Africa are living in fear.

“It is worrisome. They are hiding for their lives. They can’t move freely. This is a situation where people are paying good with evil,” he said, referencing Nigeria’s historical support for the anti-apartheid struggle.

Umeh called on the African Union to intervene and impose sanctions, stressing that continued attacks on Nigerians could no longer be tolerated.

“The AU should rise now and impose necessary sanctions. We cannot allow this to continue,” he said.

Senator Abdul Ningi also warned that Nigeria may take stronger measures if the attacks persist.

“If a crime has been committed under South African law, they have the right to prosecute, but to kill our people as if we are helpless, we will not allow that,” he said. “We have options, and these should be communicated clearly.”

In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio condemned the attacks, describing them as unacceptable and barbaric. He disclosed that the National Assembly would send a joint delegation to engage with the South African parliament over the matter.

“This is not acceptable. This is cruel and strange behaviour, and we are not seeing sufficient action from the South African government,” Akpabio said.

The development highlights growing pressure on the Federal Government to adopt a tougher stance, as recurring xenophobic violence in South Africa continues to strain diplomatic relations and trigger calls for economic countermeasures and stronger protection for Nigerians abroad.

During the ongoing money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, a prosecution witness from the American International School, Abuja (AISA), Nicholas Ojehomon has testified that there was no court order mandating the school to refund fees to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The witness, an internal auditor with the AISA, spoke while being cross-examined by Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), who asked Ojehomon to read out the part of the judgment, showing that the school erred in refunding the school fees in contention to the EFCC.

The trial judge, Justice Maryanne Anenih had, earlier noted that the school could not unilaterally grant the request for refund by a third party (the EFCC), except in accordance with the agreement or upon a court order.

The witness was told to read out part of the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment given in a suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/2574/2023, filed by Ali Bello against AISA.

He quoted the judgment as saying, “It is hereby declared that the defendant cannot lawfully and unilaterally grant the ‘request for refund’ and pay over to a third party, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or anyone howsoever described, the sum of $760,910.84 or any other sum paid pursuant to the ‘Agreement for Prepaid School Fees except in accordance with the said agreement or upon an order of court.

“It is hereby declared that any refund/payment of the sum of $760,910.84 or any other sum made to a third party, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or any other person, however described, pursuant to any request for refund, or howsoever described, without regards to due process or agreement of the Claimant is in breach of the Agreement for Prepaid School Fees.”

The court also gave “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant whether by itself, its trustees, members of staff, agents, privies, representatives and or any person howsoever described, from giving effect to any request for refund and/or paying over the sum of $760,910.84 or any other sum paid pursuant to the Agreement, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or anybody or account, howsoever described, except as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction or with recourse to the due process of law.”

After reading parts of the judgment, Ojehomon agreed that the judgment implied that the school was wrong to have refunded the said fees to the EFCC without a court order.

The witness was also shown the agreement for the prepaid school fees, marked Exhibit AX4, and he confirmed that Yahaya Bello was not a signatory.

Ojehomon, who said he had worked as an internal auditor for AISA for about eight to nine years, added that no payment originated from the former governor.

The court had, while the witness was testifying earlier, admitted the CTC of the judgment in the suit between Ali Bello and AISA, as Exhibit AO.

Justice Anenih, thereafter, stepped down an application challenging the jurisdiction of the Court for ruling and adjourned sitting to May 8.