Alleged coup plot: DIA transfers detained Zaria cleric to DSS custody

The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has transferred the detained Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Abdulkadir Zaria, to the Department of State Services (DSS) following allegations of his involvement in a coup plot against President Bola Tinubu’s government.

A Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, had on Friday ordered the DIA to produce the cleric in court on February 18 to hear his bail application.

At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Sheikh Abdulkadir’s lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, informed the court that the DIA had failed to produce his client, who had already been moved to DSS custody. Court staff noted that Justice Lifu was attending the inauguration of 14 new Federal High Court judges at the Supreme Court on the same day.

Sheikh Abdulkadir had earlier filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the DIA, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and Jaiz Bank Plc, seeking his release from detention.

Family sources, according to a report by Daily Trust, suggested that the cleric’s detention may be linked to a N2 million transfer to the bank account of the detained leader of the Fityanul Islam Tijanniyya sect by one of his adherents, who was implicated in the recent coup allegations.

The judge highlighted that since December 11, 2025, Sheikh Abdulkadir had been held in “safe custody” without access to family or associates, citing security reasons as justification for the ongoing investigation.