A PROSECUTION witness in the ongoing trial-within-trial involving suspects charged over an alleged coup plot to topple the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has told a federal high court in Abuja that the defendants made their confessional statements voluntarily and without coercion.
News Point Nigeria reports that the witness, an officer of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police, gave the testimony on Tuesday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who is presiding over the matter.
The trial-within-trial was ordered after defence lawyers challenged the federal government’s attempt to tender video recordings of the defendants’ statements, arguing that the confessional statements were obtained under duress.
Counsel to the federal government, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the prosecution had lined up three witnesses for the proceeding.
While being led in evidence, the witness stated that the defendants appeared calm and were fully aware of their constitutional rights before making the statements.
He added that the investigation was conducted in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, as well as standard investigative procedures.
During the proceedings, 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 extra-judicial statements.
The court admitted the statements and devices as exhibits after defence lawyers raised no objections during the trial-within-trial.
The witness further testified 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 specifically on Mohammed Gana, a retired major-general and the first defendant, the witness described him as “calm throughout the interrogation process.”
According to him, Gana was informed that any statement he made could be tendered before the court, adding that the video recordings showed no signs of coercion, intimidation or inducement.
Addressing alleged discrepancies between oral interviews and written statements, the witness explained that written accounts could not be exact reproductions because “human beings are not computers.”
He gave similar testimony regarding Erasmus Victor, a retired naval captain and second defendant, insisting that his statement was also made voluntarily.
The witness equally denied allegations that the defendants were tortured or forced to make statements.
On the sixth defendant, identified as an Islamic cleric, the witness told the court that 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, however, the witness admitted that he was not a member of the special investigative panel but only participated intermittently in the investigation.
He also acknowledged that the video recordings played in court related solely 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.
Despite this, he maintained that all the defendants were informed of their rights to legal representation but did not request lawyers during interrogation.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until May 13 for the 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.