Court Admits Evidence Against Six Alleged Coup Plotters

The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted evidence presented by the Federal Government against six persons standing trial over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration through a coup.

The court, on Thursday, accepted the defendants’ written statements and video recordings made during investigations by a Special Investigation Panel and military police authorities.

The six defendants are retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, serving Police Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani.

They are facing a 13-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026 over their alleged involvement in the planned coup.

However, the defendants had challenged the use of their statements as evidence, arguing that investigators obtained them through force and intimidation, contrary to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

Their lawyers also accused the investigators of denying their clients access to legal representation during interrogation. They further claimed that there were differences between the video recordings and the written statements presented by the prosecution.

The Federal Government asked the court to reject the objections raised by the defence. However, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ordered a trial within a trial to determine whether the statements were made voluntarily.

The matter came up during the testimony of the prosecution’s fourth witness.

In her ruling on Thursday, Justice Abdulmalik held that the defendants failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish that they were forced to make the statements.

The judge described their claims of coercion as an afterthought and dismissed the allegations of torture raised by the defence.

Following the ruling, the court admitted the written statements and video recordings into evidence for consideration during the trial.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently fixed December 7 and 10 for the continuation of proceedings.

One of the defendants, Zekeri Umoru, had earlier made disclosures about the alleged coup plot during proceedings on May 20.

Umoru, who works with Julius Berger Nigeria Plc in the Maintenance Department at the Presidential Villa, reportedly spoke about a plan to disrupt electricity supply to the seat of government in Abuja as part of efforts to execute the alleged coup.

In a video recording played before the court, he explained that he warned those involved that disconnecting power to the Presidential Villa would immediately attract attention and lead to investigations and the arrest of workers on duty.

He further alleged that the purported mastermind of the plot, Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji, offered him money through the third defendant, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, to recruit between 18 and 19 workers within the Presidential Villa.

According to his account, the proposed recruits were expected to include soldiers, Department of State Services (DSS) personnel and Julius Berger employees working within the facility.

Umoru also told investigators that Ma’aji allegedly wanted access to the Presidential Villa and was prepared to use force to achieve his objective, even if the people recruited from inside the facility refused to cooperate.

Another defendant, Sheikh Abdulkadir Sani, an Islamic cleric based in Zaria, also gave an account of his alleged involvement in the matter through a separate video recording presented in court.

The cleric claimed that he cautioned those behind the alleged plot that their plans would fail and that their activities would eventually become public knowledge.

He told investigators that he was informed about the alleged coup and was asked to offer prayers to prevent information about the activities of those involved from leaking.