A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial-within-trial involving suspects accused of plotting to overthrow 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 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Tuesday, May 12.
The court had ordered a trial-within-trial after defence lawyers challenged the federal government’s attempt to tender video recordings of the defendants’ statements, arguing that the confessions were obtained under duress. Counsel to the federal government, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the prosecution had three witnesses lined up for the proceedings.
While giving evidence, the witness said the defendants remained calm throughout the interrogation process and were fully aware of their constitutional rights before making the statements. According to him, the investigation complied with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, as well as 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 extrajudicial statements. The court admitted the statements and storage devices as exhibits after defence lawyers raised no objections during the trial-within-trial.
The witness further told the court that none of the defendants was denied access to legal representation and that they were informed of their rights, including the right to remain silent.
Speaking on the first defendant, retired Major General Mohammed Gana, the witness described him as “calm throughout the interrogation process.” He added that Gana was informed that any statement he made could be tendered in court and insisted that the video recordings showed no evidence of coercion, intimidation, or inducement.
Addressing discrepancies between oral interviews and written statements, the witness said written accounts could not be exact reproductions because “human beings are not computers.”
He gave similar testimony regarding the second defendant, retired naval captain Erasmus Victor, maintaining that his statement was also made voluntarily. The witness also denied allegations that any of 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 explained 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 investigative panel.
The witness further confirmed that none of the statements tendered before the court carried endorsements by lawyers and that no legal practitioners, civil society representatives, or justices of the peace were present during the recordings.
However, he maintained that all defendants were informed of their right to legal representation but did not request lawyers during interrogation.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until May 13 for 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 administration.
