Isaac Samuel
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, arraigned a retired army general and five others before a Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu.
The defendants were docked on a 13-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism and acts said to be aimed at undermining the administration.
At the proceedings, which commenced at about 1:46 p.m., the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), informed the court that the charge was ready and sought leave for it to be read to the defendants.
Those arraigned include a retired Major-General, Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, and a retired Navy Captain, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor.
Others are Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; Zekeri Umoru, an electrician at the Presidential Villa; Bukar Kashim Goni; and Abdulkadir Sani, a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric.
All six defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Proceedings were briefly stalled after the third defendant informed the court that his counsel was indisposed, while counsel to the sixth defendant told the court that his client understood only Arabic and Hausa, prompting a stand-down to enable the provision of an interpreter.
When the court reconvened at about 2:18 p.m., the pleas of the defendants were taken.
Following the arraignment, the prosecution applied for the remand of the defendants in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and urged the court to grant an accelerated hearing of the case.
The request was not opposed by most defence counsel, although counsel to the first defendant indicated an intention to file a bail application.
In a ruling, the trial judge granted the application for accelerated hearing and ordered that the defendants be remanded in DSS custody, with access to their lawyers.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter till April 27, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
