Alleged coup plot: Court orders probe of leaked evidence

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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the allegation by the prosecution that part of the evidence it tendered in court and served on lawyers to the defendants was displayed on social media.

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Justice Joyce Abdulmalik also ordered that if there was any evidence on social media, which contravened the court’s earlier order for witnesses’ protection, the DSS should investigate and bring the perpetrator to book.

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The judge said the investigation should be conducted while the trial is ongoing since all the defendants, through their lawyers, denied being involved.

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Counsel to the prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, had, midway into proceedings, told the court that he got information that some videos tendered in the case were posted on social media by a citizen called ‘Very Dark Man’.

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He informed the court that the same individual was among the audience.

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He urged the judge to order that an investigation be conducted to ascertain how the materials got to the hand of the said Very Dark Man.

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When asked by the judge to respond, all the six defence lawyers denied involvement.

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Some asked Oyedepo to file a formal application and an affidavit to enable them to respond appropriately.

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The judge proceeded to hear the bail applications filed by the defendants.

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While the defence lawyers urged the court to grant bail to their clients on liberal terms, the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the applications.

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Justice Abdulmalik then adjourned the matter until June 25 and June 30 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants to conduct their defence in the trial-within-trial, following which the 4th, 5th and 6th defendants would conduct theirs on July 1 and July 2.

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The judge also fixed a ruling on the bail application for July 20.

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Earlier, the prosecution urged the court to admit in evidence the statements made to investigators by the defendants.

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The fourth prosecution witness in the trial-within-a-trial being conducted to ascertain the voluntariness or otherwise of the statements made the request while telling the court that the statements were voluntarily made by the defendants, whom he said were not subjected to any form of torture or harassment.

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The witness, identified as “DDD”, was led in evidence by Oyedepo, during which he denied all the allegations by the defendants, including that they were tortured to make the statements in which five of them, except the first, admitted knowing about the plot.

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On whether the claim by the defendants that their feet were chained is true, the witness said, “It is not true. The feet of the defendants were not chained; they walked into the interview room by themselves.”

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He said if it were true that they were chained, the sound of the chain would have been heard in the video that was played in court earlier on Tuesday.

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On why their lawyers were not present while they were being interviewed, the witness said none of them requested to have their lawyers, family members, officials of the Legal Aid Council or a justice of the peace (JP) present.

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The witness urged the court to admit the statement and the audiovisual recordings of the interview session with the defendants in evidence for the purpose of the trial.

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Under cross-examination by lawyers to the defendants, the witness restated that the defendants did not make their statements in the presence of either their lawyers, family members, officials of the Legal Aid Council or a JP.

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He, however, insisted that they were neither tortured nor compelled to make the statements.

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At the conclusion of the cross-examination, Oyedepo announced the closure of the prosecution’s case in the trial-within-trial, having called four witnesses.

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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the six men are being prosecuted over their alleged involvement in the alleged coup plot to topple President Bola Tinubu-led government. (NAN)

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