The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday admitted all evidence the Federal Government tendered against six suspected coup plotters.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling after a trial-within-trial, agreed with the prosecution’s arguments that there was no evidence of torture from the audio-visual recordings submitted by the defendants before the court.
The judge, who discounted all objections of doubt and claims of involuntariness in the recording of the confessional statements, said the video recordings showed the defendants appearing calm and unruffled.
The judge disagreed with the defence’s submissions that a lawyer must be present when taking a defendant’s confessional statement under the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
Citing provisions of the Evidence Act, 2011 and a previous Supreme Court decision to back her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that, contrary to the defence’s arguments, where an audio-visual recording of a statement is made by a defendant, and there is no proven element of involuntariness in its making, despite lawyer’s absence, such a statement will be admissible evidence in trial. The judge remarked that in a criminal trial, the Evidence Act takes precedence over the ACJA.
“I discountenance all objections of doubt. Therefore, all the audio visual recordings were voluntarily recorded and I found no involuntariness in the exercise,” she declared.
The judge, who dismissed the argument of prolonged custody raised by the defence lawyers, also rejected the 6th defendant’s claim that there was no interpreter at the time, as his confession was recorded in Hausa Language.
She also noted that the audio-visual recordings of 1st prosecution witness (PW-1) to PW-4 tallied, as there was no evidence of torture in obtaining the defendants’ statements.
“The defendants failed to substantiate the allegations of oppression,” she ruled.
Justice Abdulmalik consequently admitted all the defendants’ extra-judicial statements, including the audio-visual recording, the certificates of compliance, flash drives, the external drive from the Special Investigation Panel, and the accompanying certificate of compliance, into evidence. Thus, marking them as exhibits accordingly.
The matter was thereafter adjourned to December 7 and December 10, 2026 at 12 noon, for continuation of trial.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the judge had, on September 30, adjourned for ruling after counsel for the prosecution, Maryam Okorie, and lawyers to the defendants adopted their final written addresses and presented their arguments for and against the application.
The Federal Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), has on April 22, arraigned the six defendants on a 13 count charge.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026, was filed on April 20 by the Director, Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
The defendants are retired Maj. Gen. Mohammed Gana, retired Navy Capt. Erasmus Victor, Insp. Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani as 1st to 6th defendants respectively.
The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who is alleged to be part of the act, is listed as being at large.
The defendants were accused of offences ranging from treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
Justice Abdulmalik, on May 11, ordered the trial-within-trial after defence lawyers objected to the admissibility of the statements and video recordings the prosecution sought to tender. They argued that the statements were not made voluntarily. The objection came after the prosecution called four witnesses to stand.
The 4th prosecution witness (PW-4), an army officer identified by the codename “AAA” for security reasons, is yet to be discharged from the witness box.
The PW-4 tendered video recordings of the defendants’ interrogations before the trial-within-trial began.
The Federal Government, however, closed its case in the trial-within-trial on 23 June, after which the defendants began opening their defence on 25 June.
Following the conclusion of their defence, the judge fixed Sept. 30 for the adoption of their written addresses.
It would be recalled that Zekeri Umoru, the 4th defendant, on May 20, told the court that discussions were held on switching off electricity supply to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to aid the alleged coup.
Umoru, a Julius Berger Nigeria Plc employee in the Maintenance Department at the Presidential Villa, warned in video evidence that such an action would immediately trigger investigations and the detention of workers on duty. He alleged that Col. Mohammed Ma’aji, the alleged coup mastermind, offered him money, through Insp. Ahmed Ibrahim, the 3rd defendant, to recruit between 18 and 19 persons working inside the Villa.
Umoru said those to be recruited included soldiers, officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Julius Berger staff.
He also told the investigators that Ma’aji allegedly wanted access to the Presidential Villa and could achieve it “with force,” even if those recruited from inside decline to cooperate.
The 4th defendant said this in the video while being questioned by some members of the Special Investigative Panel (SIP) that first investigated the case.
Sheikh Sani Abdulkadir, an Islamic cleric and the 6th defendant in the ongoing trial, also said in the video evidence that he warned the co-suspects that the plan would fail and that they would eventually be exposed.
Abdulkadir, a Zaria-based Imam, said he was informed about the plot and recruited to pray against the leakage of information about the activities of those behind it.
