104
By John Azu
A Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted statements made before a military Special Investigations Panel by suspects indicted in the alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik admitted the documents on Tuesday at the begining of the trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of their statements.
The trial-within-trial was ordered after defence lawyers rejected the admissibility of the statements recorded via a video for not being voluntary.
Earlier, the prosecution led by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) called the first of his three witness, who is an officer of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police, who is the 4th prosecution witness in the main trial.
Responding to questions, the witness maintained that the statement-taking complied with the best standard operating procedure under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 and in adherence to the constitutional rights of persons, adding that the defendants were calm and unagitated throughout the process.
Consequently, the judge admitted the statements as exhibits, including a black external hard drive and a flash drive said to contain video recordings of the defendants’ extra-judicial statements alongside certificates of identification.
After the conclusion of the evidence, the judge adjourned the matter to May 13 for continuation of the trial-within-trial.
Six persons were arraigned for the alleged coup plot. They include: former Governor of Bayelsa State Timipreye Silva, who is said to be at large; Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (retired); retired Navy Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, and Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani Zaria.