A Federal High Court in Abuja played video evidence in the alleged coup plot trial, where two defendants admitted awareness of the plan while another denied involvement, amid objections from defence lawyers.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday played video recordings of investigators’ interview sessions with three of six men being prosecuted over an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of Bola Tinubu. In the recordings presented in open court, retired Navy Captain Erasmus Ochegobia Victor and Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim admitted being aware of the plot, while retired Major General Mohammed Ibrahim Gana denied knowledge of it.
The recordings, contained in a hard disc tendered by the prosecution, were opposed by defence lawyers who argued that their clients’ statements were not made voluntarily and should not be played before being admitted as evidence. However, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik overruled the objections, describing the procedure as standard practice, and ordered that the videos be played. She added that a trial-within-trial would be conducted to determine the voluntariness of the statements.
In one of the sessions, Gana said he knew the alleged mastermind, Colonel M. A. Ma’aji, but denied knowledge of any coup plan, stating he would have reported it if aware. He also denied involvement in reconnaissance or fundraising efforts linked to the plot, despite admitting to sharing a coup speech and anti-government messages via WhatsApp. Victor, however, acknowledged knowing about the plan, saying Ma’aji, “out of anger, he said he wants to overthrow the system,” adding that he advised against it and declined requests to support the plot despite promises of future appointments.
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