Court Accepts Evidence Against Alleged Coup Planners

The Federal High Court in Abuja accepted statements and video recordings from six suspected coup plotters on Thursday. These materials were gathered during military questioning and are now evidence against them.

The court rejected their claims that the evidence was obtained through torture and pressure. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the defendants voluntarily gave their statements and took part in the recorded questioning.

The judge said their claims of duress were an afterthought. She also noted that there was no proof that the military used torture or force to get the statements.

The accused include retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.

On April 22, the Federal Government charged them with 13 counts. These charges include treason, terrorism, failing to disclose security information, and money laundering connected to terrorism financing. The case number is FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026.

Justice Abdulmalik ordered a trial-within-trial on May 11. This was after defense lawyers questioned whether the statements and video recordings were obtained freely. They argued that the evidence was not given voluntarily.

The challenge came after four prosecution witnesses testified. One of the witnesses was an Army officer known only as AAA, who showed video recordings of the defendants during their questioning.

After the court dismissed the objections, the judge accepted the evidence as part of the trial. She then postponed the case to December 7 and 10 for further proceedings.