As Nigerians prepared for the transfer of power on 29 May 2023, a group of military officers was quietly plotting to overthrow the country’s democracy and assassinate key political figures. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the coup plotters planned to violently disrupt the handover of power from former President Muhammadu Buhari to President Bola Tinubu. Before the declaration, the former governor had his home raided by soldiers investigating the failed plot to topple President Bola Tinubu. He took part in Operation Crocodile Smile II, a Nigerian Army military exercise conducted in 2017 to address security challenges in the Niger Delta and parts of the South-west. Assassination TargetsMr Ma’aji and the other military officers allegedly planned a violent takeover in which top government officials were marked for elimination.