By Attah Ede
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has scheduled December 7, 2026, for ruling in the trial-within-trial conducted to determine the admissibility of the evidence sought to be tendered by the Federal Government in the trial of the suspected coup plotters.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik fixed the date on Wednesday after counsel for the prosecution, Maryam Okorie, and lawyers to the defendants adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the application.
The Federal Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), had, on April 22, arraigned the six defendants on a 13-count charge.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026, was filed on April 20 by the Director, Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
The defendants are retired Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Gana, retired Navy Capt. Erasmus Victor, Insp. Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani as the first to sixth defendants, respectively.
The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who is alleged to be part of the act, is listed as being at large.
The defendants were accused of offences ranging from treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
Justice Abdulmalik had, on May 11, ordered the trial-within-trial after defence lawyers objected to the admissibility of the statements and video recordings the prosecution sought to tender.
They argued that the statements were not made voluntarily.
The objection was raised after the prosecution had called four witnesses.
The fourth prosecution witness (PW-4), an army officer identified by the codename “AAA” for security reasons, is yet to be discharged from the witness box.
PW-4 tendered video recordings of the defendants’ interrogations before the trial-within-trial began.
The Federal Government, however, closed its case in the trial-within-trial on June 23, after which the defendants began opening their defence on June 25.
Following the conclusion of their defence, the judge fixed Wednesday for the adoption of their written addresses.
It would be recalled that Zekeri Umoru, the fourth defendant, on May 20, told the court that discussions were held on switching off electricity supply to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to aid the alleged coup.
Umoru, a Julius Berger Nigeria Plc employee in the Maintenance Department at the Presidential Villa, spoke in a video evidence played before Justice Abdulmalik.
The defendant said he warned that such an action would immediately trigger investigations and the detention of workers on duty if such action was carried out.
He alleged that Col. Mohammed Ma’aji, the alleged coup mastermind, offered him money, through Insp. Ahmed Ibrahim, the third defendant, to recruit between 18 and 19 persons working inside the Villa.
Umoru said those to recruit included soldiers, officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Julius Berger staff.
He also told the investigators that Ma’aji allegedly said he wanted access into the Presidential Villa and could achieve it “with force,” even if those recruited from inside declined to cooperate.
The fourth defendant stated this in the video while being questioned by some members of the Special Investigative Panel (SIP) that first investigated the case.
Also, Sheikh Sani Abdulkadir, an Islamic cleric and the sixth defendant in the ongoing trial, said in the video evidence that he warned the co-suspects that the plan would fail and that they would eventually be exposed.
Abdulkadir, a Zaria-based Imam, said he was informed about the plot and recruited to pray against the leakage of information about the activities of those behind it.
