Alleged coup trial in Abuja By Zagazola Makama
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday viewed a video-recorded statement by Sheikh Sani Abdulkadir, the sixth defendant in the ongoing trial involving persons accused of plotting to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
During the court proceedings, the Islamic cleric admitted receiving money to offer prayers for the alleged operation. However, he insisted that he warned those involved that the plan would fail because insiders would eventually sabotage it.
The video was played while the fourth prosecution witness (PW4) remained in the witness box as the trial continued.
In the recorded statement, Abdulkadir disclosed that he had known the alleged ringleader, Colonel Maaji, for less than one year. According to him, an intermediary identified as Sanda approached him to provide spiritual support for the operation.
“Sanda told me that his Oga wanted to carry out a coup and needed prayers to know whether it would succeed,” Abdulkadir stated in the recording.
The cleric further explained that after conducting prayers, he informed them that the operation would not succeed.
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“I told them the plan would fail and that two people among them would expose the entire arrangement,” he added.
According to Abdulkadir, another request later came through Sanda asking him to pray so that the two individuals would not reveal the alleged conspiracy.
He said money was subsequently transferred to him for prayers and charity, while names of some alleged participants were also forwarded to him for inclusion in the prayers.
Meanwhile, the cleric maintained that the funds he received were strictly connected to spiritual activities and not to support any attempt to overthrow the government.
Abdulkadir also acknowledged that he understood the meaning of a coup as a military takeover of government. Nevertheless, he admitted that he did not report the matter to authorities because he allegedly did not know who to contact.
“I did not know who to report such information to,” he said.
The defendant further narrated how his arrest followed his visit to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over restrictions placed on his bank account.
According to him, he contacted a deputy director at the EFCC, who then invited him to the commission’s office to explain the source of the funds that entered his account.
He denied making any coup-related confession while in EFCC custody. He also stated that investigators neither assaulted nor tortured him during interrogation.
“All the statements I made were voluntary,” Abdulkadir said.
Following the playback of the video, the prosecution applied to tender extra-judicial statements obtained from all six defendants before a Special Investigation Panel and military police authorities.
However, defence lawyers representing the defendants strongly opposed the move. They argued that investigators obtained the statements involuntarily and in breach of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
The defence teams listed several objections, including alleged failure to inform the defendants of their right to legal representation, discrepancies between the recorded videos and written statements, and accusations of coercion, inducement and torture.
They also questioned whether the video footage adequately reflected the physical condition of the defendants during interrogation.
Counsel to the fifth defendant additionally urged the court to conduct separate trial-within-trial proceedings for each disputed statement instead of adopting a combined hearing.
In response, the prosecution asked the court to dismiss the objections. Prosecutors argued that the law does not require separate proceedings for individual defendants and maintained that the trial judge possesses discretionary powers regarding the admission of evidence.
After listening to both sides, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled in favour of conducting a single joint trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness and admissibility of all the disputed statements.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until May 12 for continuation of proceedings.
Keyphrase: Alleged coup trial in Abuja.
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