Court admits statements, video recordings towards alleged coup plotters, fixes Dec for trial

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the objections of the alleged coup plotters towards the admission of their statements and video recordings made to the army throughout their interrogation for allegedly plotting to violently overthrow the federal government of President Bola Tinubu.

The Judge on Thursday upheld the submission of the federal authorities that the statements and video recordings have been voluntarily made by the defendants throughout interrogation by the army.

In a ruling on trial-within-trial carried out by the Court to establish the genuineness of the plotters’ allegations, Justice Abdulmalik held that there was no iota of proof that the statements and video recordings have been made beneath duress.

Specifically, the decide dismissed the allegations of torture, inducement and employment of power by the army to make them make the confessional statements and video recordings.

She admitted the statements and video recordings as reveals towards the defendants whereas dismissing their claims of being made beneath duress.

The alleged coup plotters are retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Navy Capt. Erasmus Victor, Insp. Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani as 1st to sixth defendants respectively.

The Federal Government, by way of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, had, on April 22, arraigned the six defendants on a 13-count cost.

The cost, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026, was filed on April 20 by the Director, Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.

The defendants have been accused of offences starting from treason and terrorism to failure to reveal safety intelligence and cash laundering linked to terrorism financing.

Justice Abdulmalik had, on May 11, ordered the trial-within-trial after defence legal professionals objected to the admissibility of the statements and video recordings the prosecution sought to tender.

They argued that the statements weren’t made voluntarily and filed an objection after the prosecution had referred to as 4 witnesses.

The 4th prosecution witness, PW-4, a military officer recognized by the codename “AAA,” had tendered video recordings of the defendants’ interrogations earlier than the trial-within-trial started.

Justice Abdulmalik admitted the statements of the accused individuals and the video recordings towards the defendants.

She subsequently fastened December 7 and 10 for continuation of the trial.