Army Officer Rejects Torture Allegation In Coup Plot Trial

Army Officer Rejects Torture Allegation In Coup Plot Trial
Defence lawyers argued statements were obtained under duress during interrogation.
Court adjourned case until May 13 for continuation of proceedings.

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial-within-trial involving suspects accused of plotting to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu has told the 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, gave evidence on Tuesday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the trial-within-trial was initiated after defence lawyers objected to the Federal Government’s attempt to tender video recordings of the defendants’ extra-judicial statements as evidence.

Counsel to the defendants had argued that the statements were obtained under duress and should not be admitted by the court.

However, counsel to the Federal Government, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the prosecution had three witnesses prepared to testify during the proceeding.

While giving evidence, the military police officer stated that all the defendants remained calm during interrogation and were fully informed of their constitutional rights before making their statements.

According to the witness, investigators complied with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, alongside standard investigative procedures throughout the process.

The prosecution subsequently tendered statements allegedly obtained from the six defendants, including an external hard drive and a flash drive containing video recordings of the interrogations.

The materials were admitted as exhibits after defence lawyers raised no objections during the trial-within-trial proceedings.

The witness further told the court that none of the suspects was denied access to legal representation and that each defendant was informed of the right to remain silent.

Speaking specifically on retired Major-General Mohammed Gana, the first defendant, the witness described him as calm throughout the interrogation process.

He added that Gana was informed that any statement he made could be used against him in court.

According to the witness, the video recordings presented before the court showed no signs of intimidation, coercion or inducement during the interrogation sessions.

Addressing alleged discrepancies between oral interviews and written statements, the witness stated that written statements could not always be exact reproductions of spoken words.

“Human beings are not computers,” he told the court.

The witness also gave similar testimony regarding retired naval captain Erasmus Victor, insisting that his statement was made voluntarily.

He further disclosed that an interpreter was provided for the sixth defendant, an Islamic cleric, because he could not communicate fluently in English.

According to the witness, the suspect’s statements were translated between Hausa and English before they were read back to him for confirmation.

During cross-examination, 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 presented in court related solely to statements taken before the military police and not those obtained by the investigative panel.

The witness further confirmed that none of the statements carried endorsements from 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 right to legal representation but did not request the presence of lawyers during interrogation.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until May 13 for continuation of the trial-within-trial.

Army Officer Rejects Torture Allegation In Coup Plot 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.