The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered a joint trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of statements the prosecution tendered in the alleged coup plot trial.
Judge Joyce Abdulmalik made the order after the prosecution sought to tender extra-judicial statements attributed to the defendants and accompanying 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 12 May.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that, on 22 April, the federal government arraigned a retired army general, Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, and five others.
The defendants charged in the case are Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major-general; Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; and Zekeri Umoru, an electrician at the Presidential Villa.
Others are Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani, a Zaria-based Islamic cleric.
READ ALSO: ‘I was misled,’ alleged coup defendant says in video recording played in court
They were accused of being part of a conspiracy to topple the President Bola Tinubu-led government. The plot allegedly leaked last September, leading to arrest of serving and retired military officers alongside their alleged civilian conspirators.
Some serving military officers are also undergoing trial before the 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 three witnesses. The fifth witness is yet to be discharged.
At previous hearings, the court played video recordings. The last video was played in court on Monday before arguments on the trial within trial began.
More details later…