A Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted the statements and video recordings of six alleged coup plotters as evidence in their trial for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Thursday, dismissed the defendants’ claims that the statements and recordings were obtained through torture, coercion, inducement and other forms of duress.
The court held that the prosecution had established that the evidence was voluntarily obtained during the defendants’ interrogation by the military.
Ruling on the trial-within-trial, which was ordered to determine the admissibility of the disputed evidence, Justice Abdulmalik described the allegations of duress as an afterthought, saying they were not supported by credible evidence.
The judge consequently admitted the statements and video recordings as exhibits against the defendants.
The defendants are retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani.
The Federal Government arraigned the six defendants on April 22, 2026, on a 13-count charge involving treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering allegedly connected to terrorism financing.
The charge was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, on April 20.
The trial-within-trial commenced after defence counsel challenged the admissibility of the statements and video recordings tendered by the prosecution, insisting that their clients did not make them voluntarily.
The objection followed the testimony of four prosecution witnesses, including an Army officer identified by the codename “AAA,” who tendered video recordings of the defendants’ interrogations.
Justice Abdulmalik ordered the separate proceedings on May 11 to determine whether the disputed evidence could be admitted in the substantive trial.
The court adjourned the case to December 7 and 10 for continuation of the trial.
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(Editor: Ada Ononye)
