The court issued the order after the prosecution sought to tender extra-judicial statements attributed to the coup suspects and accompanying video recordings as evidence.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of extra-judicial statements the prosecution tendered in the alleged coup plot trial of a retired army major-general and five others.
Judge Joyce Abdulmalik made the order after the prosecution sought to tender the extra-judicial statements attributed to the defendants, along with video recordings, as evidence.
The defence lawyers took turns objecting to the admissibility of the statements and video recordings the prosecution sought to tender, arguing that the statements were not made voluntarily.
They also maintained that the circumstances of the collection of the exhibits breached safeguards under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
They cited the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, as well as Sections 15 and 17 of the ACJA, alleging oppression and possible coercion during interrogation.
They further challenged the video evidence, claiming it did not properly capture the making of the statements or reflect full compliance with procedure.
The lawyers urged the court to conduct a trial-within-trial to determine their voluntariness before the statements could be admitted in evidence.
Specifically, Olalekan Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who is the defence lawyer for the fifth defendant, told the court that since all the defendants were objecting, it was in the interest of justice for the court to order separate trials within trial instead of a joint one.
Responding, the prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, also a SAN, said his team was “not afraid of a trial-within-trial.”
But he urged the court to conduct a joint trial-within-trial rather than separate proceedings for each defendant.
After listening to their arguments, Judge Abdulmalik ordered “a joint trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements.”
She adjourned proceedings until Tuesday (12 May).
The five co-defendants include Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; and Zekeri Umoru, an electrician at the Presidential Villa.
The rest are Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani, a Zaria-based Islamic cleric.
They were accused of being part of a conspiracy to topple the President Bola Tinubu-led government. Information about the alleged secret plot was leaked to the authorities last September, leading to the arrest of serving and retired military officers alongside their alleged civilian conspirators.
Some serving military officers are undergoing trial before the military’s General Court Martial over the alleged failed coup.
The six men charged before the Federal High Court in Abuja face 13 counts of treason, terrorism, failure to disclose information, and money laundering over the alleged failed coup.
Since the trial began, the prosecution has called four witnesses.
At Monday’s proceedings the last video recording was played before arguments ensued over the admissibility of the clips alongside the hand-written extra-judicial statements attributed to the defendants.
In the recording, the last in a series of video clips capturing the interrogation sessions played in court on Monday, Mr Sani, the sixth defendant who described himself as an Islamic cleric, confirmed that nobody assaulted or tortured him and that his “statements were made voluntarily.”
He said he knew the alleged coup ringleader, Mohammed Ma’aji, a serving army colonel, for less than a year. He said Mr Ma’aji approached him through a man identified as Sanda, requesting prayers concerning the alleged coup plot.
According to him, Sanda informed him that his “Oga” intended to stage a coup and needed spiritual prayers and divination regarding its success.
Mr Sani told investigators that after conducting prayers, he informed them the operation would fail and that two persons would eventually betray those involved.
He said a message was later relayed back to him through Sanda “requesting further prayers so that the two individuals would not betray the group.”
The defendant further stated that money was subsequently sent to him for “prayers and charity”, while names of individuals allegedly involved in the plot were also forwarded to him for inclusion in the prayers.
He said shortly after the prayers commenced, Sanda informed him that Colonel Ma’aji had not been seen for four days, adding that he later learnt through media reports that arrests had been made over an alleged coup plot.
However, Mr Sani maintained in the video that the funds transferred to him were not payments for supporting a coup but were meant for prayers.
He also told investigators that he never reported the alleged plot because he did not know who to report to.
The defendant narrated that he was eventually arrested after visiting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over restrictions placed on his bank account.
According to him, he had gone to withdraw from the money transferred to him when he discovered that “the account had been flagged.”
