Kassim Goni, an Islamic cleric, says the N10 million he received from Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji, a colonel, was 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 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.
