‘Coup Plot’: Suspects made Confessional Statements Voluntarily, Witness Tells Court

A prosecution witness in the trial-within-trial of suspects charged over the alleged coup plot to topple the government of President Bola Tinubu has told a federal high court in Abuja that the defendants made their confessional statements voluntarily.

The witness, an officer of the Nigerian Army corps of military police, testified on Tuesday before Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge.

The trial-within-trial was ordered after defence lawyers opposed the federal government’s attempt to tender video recordings of the defendants’ statements, arguing that the statements were obtained under duress.

Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the federal government, said the prosecution had three witnesses lined up for the proceeding.

While being led in evidence, the witness said the defendants were calm and aware of their constitutional rights before making the statements.

He added that the investigation complied with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, and standard investigative procedures.

The prosecution tendered statements allegedly obtained from the six defendants, alongside an external hard drive and a flash drive said to contain video recordings of their extra-judicial statements.

The court admitted the statements and devices as exhibits after defence lawyers raised no objection during the trial-within-trial.

The witness said none of the defendants was denied access to legal representation, adding that they were informed of their rights, including the right to remain silent.

Speaking on Mohammed Gana, a retired major-general and first defendant, the witness described him as “calm throughout the interrogation process.”

He said Gana was informed that any statement he made could be tendered in court, noting that the video recordings showed no sign of coercion, intimidation or inducement.

On discrepancies between oral interviews and written statements, he said written accounts could not be exact reproductions because “human beings are not computers.”

The witness gave similar testimony regarding Erasmus Victor, a retired naval captain and second defendant, insisting that his statement was made voluntarily.

He also denied allegations that the defendants were tortured or forced to make statements.

On the sixth defendant, an Islamic cleric, the witness said an interpreter was provided because the suspect could not communicate fluently in English.

He added that the statements were translated between Hausa and English before being read back to the defendant for confirmation.

During cross-examination, the witness admitted he was not a member of the special investigative panel but participated intermittently in the investigation.

He also acknowledged that the video recordings shown in court related only to statements made before the military police and not those taken by the panel.

The witness further confirmed that none of the statements tendered before the court bore endorsements by lawyers and that no legal practitioners, civil society representatives or justices of the peace were present during the recordings.

However, he insisted that all the defendants were informed of their rights to legal representation but did not request lawyers during interrogation.

The judge adjourned the matter until May 13 for the continuation of the trial-within-trial.

The federal government, through the office of the attorney-general of the federation, is prosecuting six suspects over an alleged plot to overthrow the Tinubu-led federal government.