Court Evaluates Statements of Alleged Coup Plotters

On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja began a trial within a trial concerning six individuals accused of attempting to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu. The trial aims to determine if the statements made by the defendants were obtained voluntarily or through coercion, duress, or torture.

Justice Joyc Abdulmalik cautioned all parties to focus strictly on issues related to the voluntariness of the statements. The prosecution, led by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, presented three witnesses during this phase.

The first witness, an officer from the Nigerian Army Corps Military Police, testified that the defendants were calm and aware of their constitutional rights during the investigation. The prosecution submitted statements from the defendants and a black external hard drive containing video recordings of their interrogations.

Witnesses consistently denied any claims of coercion or torture, asserting that the defendants freely narrated their accounts. The testimonies reinforced the claim that the statements were voluntarily made without any signs of intimidation.