The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted the confessional statements and video recordings submitted by the Federal Government against six individuals standing trial over an alleged coup plot in Nigeria.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled on Thursday that the prosecution had sufficiently demonstrated that the defendants’ statements were made voluntarily, dismissing claims by their lawyers that the confessions were obtained through torture, intimidation or other forms of pressure.
The decision followed a trial-within-trial conducted to determine whether the statements and accompanying recordings could be used as evidence in the substantive criminal proceedings.
In her ruling, the judge said the audiovisual materials did not reveal signs of physical abuse or coercion. She observed that the defendants appeared calm during the recorded interrogations.
Court rejects defendants’ claims of involuntary confessions
The defence teams had challenged the admissibility of the statements, arguing that they were not voluntarily made.
They also questioned the circumstances surrounding the interrogations, including the absence of legal representatives during the recording of some statements.
However, Justice Abdulmalik rejected the argument that the presence of a lawyer was an absolute requirement in every circumstance where an accused person’s statement was audiovisually recorded.
Relying on provisions of the Evidence Act 2011 and a previous Supreme Court decision, she explained that a recorded confession could be admitted where the court was satisfied that it was made voluntarily.
The judge further held that the Evidence Act governed the question of admissibility in the circumstances before her.
She also dismissed the defence’s argument concerning prolonged detention and rejected the sixth defendant’s complaint that an interpreter was unavailable when his Hausa-language statement was recorded.
According to the court, the defendants had not provided sufficient evidence to establish the alleged oppression or involuntariness.
Confessional statements and investigation recordings admitted
Following the ruling, the court admitted all the statements and related materials tendered by the prosecution.
The admitted exhibits included audiovisual recordings of the interrogations, certificates of compliance, flash drives and an external storage device obtained from the Special Investigation Panel.
The materials were formally marked as exhibits and will now form part of the evidence to be considered during the substantive trial.
The judge adjourned proceedings until December 7 and 10, 2026, at noon for continuation of the case.
Six defendants face 13-count charge
The Federal Government arraigned the six defendants on April 22, 2026, on a 13-count charge involving allegations of treason, terrorism, failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
The charge, numbered FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026, was filed on April 20 by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The defendants are retired Major-General Mohammed Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani.
Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, is also alleged to be connected to the case but is listed as being at large.
All the allegations remain subject to determination by the court.
How the trial-within-trial began
The dispute over the confessional evidence emerged on May 11, when Justice Abdulmalik ordered a separate hearing after defence lawyers challenged the prosecution’s attempt to introduce the statements and interrogation videos.
The defence maintained that the statements were involuntary and should therefore be excluded from the trial.
The prosecution, represented by Maryam Okorie, called four witnesses to establish the circumstances surrounding the interrogations.
One of them, an army officer identified by the security codename AAA, presented recordings of the defendants’ questioning before the separate admissibility hearing commenced.
The prosecution concluded its case in the trial-within-trial on June 23, after which the defendants began presenting their defence on June 25.
Both sides subsequently submitted written arguments and presented their final positions before the judge delivered Thursday’s ruling.
Defendant recounts alleged plan involving Presidential Villa
During earlier proceedings, fourth defendant Zekeri Umoru, an employee of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc who worked in the Maintenance Department at the Presidential Villa, was shown in a recorded interrogation discussing an alleged plan to disrupt electricity supply to the seat of government.
In the recording played before the court on May 20, Umoru reportedly said he warned those involved that cutting power to the Presidential Villa would immediately trigger investigations and could lead to the detention of workers on duty.
He further alleged that Col. Mohammed Ma’aji, described in the prosecution’s case as an alleged mastermind, offered money through Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim to recruit between 18 and 19 people working within the Presidential Villa.
According to the account in the recording, the proposed recruits were expected to include soldiers, Department of State Services personnel and Julius Berger employees.
Umoru also alleged that Ma’aji wanted access to the Presidential Villa and was prepared to use force if those approached refused to cooperate.
These statements form part of the prosecution’s allegations and have not been established as facts through a final judgment.
Cleric says he warned against alleged plot
The sixth defendant, Sheikh Abdulkadir Sani, an Islamic cleric based in Zaria, also appeared in the interrogation recordings presented during the proceedings.
In his recorded account, he reportedly said he had been informed about the alleged plan and was asked to pray against information about the activities of those involved becoming public.
He maintained that he warned the individuals concerned that the alleged operation would fail and that they would eventually be exposed.
The prosecution’s evidence involving the cleric is also subject to evaluation during the substantive trial.
Trial to continue in December
Thursday’s decision clears the way for the prosecution to rely on the admitted statements and recordings as part of its case against the six defendants.
However, admitting evidence does not amount to a finding of guilt. The court must still examine the full evidence, consider the defence and determine whether the prosecution has proved its allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
The case is scheduled to resume on December 7 and 10, 2026, as the Federal High Court continues proceedings in the high-profile alleged coup trial.
