Cleric Testifies: Coup Plotters Sought Religious Cover
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday watched a video recording in which an Islamic cleric standing trial over an alleged coup plot told investigators that he warned suspected conspirators their plan would fail and that they would eventually be betrayed.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik also ordered a joint trial-within-trial to determine whether statements and video recordings presented by the prosecution were made voluntarily.
The Federal Government had arraigned six defendants, including retired military officers and an Islamic cleric, over allegations of treason, terrorism, money laundering and conspiracy to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government.
At Monday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) played a video statement allegedly made by Sheikh Abdulkadir Sani.
In the recording, Sani said he was approached by a man identified as Sanda, who requested prayers and spiritual guidance for a planned coup.
According to the cleric, he informed them after prayers that the operation would fail.
“I warned them the coup would fail,” he said.
Sani also claimed he told them two members of the group would eventually betray the plotters.
He said money was later transferred to him for prayers and charity, while names of those allegedly involved were sent to him for inclusion in prayers.
Read Also:
The cleric maintained that the money was not payment for supporting a coup.
“The money was meant for prayers,” he told investigators.
Sani admitted he understood that a coup meant a military takeover of government but claimed he did not report the alleged plot because he did not know who to report to.
He further stated that he was later arrested after discovering that his bank account had been flagged while trying to withdraw funds linked to the transfers.
Before the end of the video, Sani confirmed that he was neither assaulted nor tortured and that his statements were made voluntarily.
Following the playback, the prosecution sought to tender extra-judicial statements made by the defendants before investigators.
However, defence lawyers opposed the move, arguing that the statements were not voluntarily made and violated provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Anti-Torture Act.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the court would conduct a joint trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements.
The matter was adjourned until May 12 for continuation of proceedings.
Meanwhile, relatives and sympathisers of some of the accused officers staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, demanding an open trial and the release of the detained suspects.
The protesters criticised restrictions on public and media access to parts of the proceedings and called on the government to ensure transparency in the trial process.
