The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted written statements and video recordings made by six alleged coup plotters during military interrogations, dismissing their claims that the evidence was obtained through coercion.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the defendants failed to establish that their statements and recordings were made under duress.
The judge described their allegations of torture, force and inducement as an afterthought, holding that the evidence before the court did not support their claims.
The ruling followed a trial-within-trial conducted to determine whether the statements and recordings were voluntarily made. The court subsequently admitted the materials as exhibits in the ongoing trial.
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, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, arraigned the six men on April 22 on a 13-count charge.
The charges include treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering allegedly linked to terrorism financing. The defendants have pleaded not guilty.
The defence had challenged the admissibility of the statements and video recordings, alleging that the defendants were subjected to torture and other forms of pressure during interrogation.
The prosecution maintained that the materials were obtained voluntarily. It called four witnesses during the trial-within-trial, including an Army officer identified by the codename “AAA”, who had earlier tendered video recordings of the interrogations.
In dismissing the objections, Justice Abdulmalik held that the defendants’ claims of coercion were not credible and admitted the evidence for consideration in the substantive trial.
The court adjourned the case to December 7 and 10 for continuation of proceedings.
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