Alleged Coup Plot: Court Orders DSS Probe Into Leaked Evidence On Social Media

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate allegations that evidence tendered in the ongoing alleged coup plot trial was leaked and circulated on social media.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the directive on Tuesday after the prosecution informed the court that some video materials admitted as evidence had allegedly appeared online despite existing witness protection measures ordered by the court.

The judge directed the DSS to identify the source of the alleged leak and ensure that anyone found responsible is brought to justice.

She further ruled that the investigation should proceed alongside the ongoing trial, noting that all the defendants and their lawyers had denied any involvement in the alleged publication of the materials.

The issue arose during proceedings when lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that videos tendered in evidence had allegedly been posted on social media by an individual identified as “Very Dark Man”.

According to Oyedepo, he was informed that the videos had been published online and further alleged that the individual in question was present in the courtroom during proceedings.

The senior advocate urged the court to order an investigation to determine how the materials found their way into the public domain.

Responding to the allegation, lawyers representing the six defendants distanced themselves and their clients from the incident.

Some of the defence counsel argued that the prosecution should file a formal application supported by an affidavit if it intended to pursue the matter, insisting that they could not adequately respond to a verbal allegation.

Following submissions from both sides, Justice Abdulmalik ordered the DSS to investigate any breach of the court's earlier directives relating to witness protection and confidentiality of evidence.

The court subsequently proceeded to hear pending bail applications filed on behalf of the defendants.

While defence lawyers urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms, the prosecution opposed the applications and asked the court to reject them.

Justice Abdulmalik later adjourned proceedings to allow the continuation of the trial-within-trial instituted to determine whether statements allegedly made by the defendants were obtained voluntarily.

The judge fixed June 25 and June 30 for the first, second and third defendants to present their defence in the trial-within-trial.

The fourth, fifth and sixth defendants are expected to present their cases on July 1 and July 2.

She also scheduled July 20 for ruling on the bail applications.

Earlier during proceedings, the prosecution sought the admission of statements allegedly made by the defendants during investigation.

A prosecution witness identified only as “DDD” testified that the statements were voluntarily made and denied allegations that the defendants were tortured, harassed or coerced into making confessional statements.

The witness rejected claims by some defendants that their feet were chained during interrogation.

“It is not true. The feet of the defendants were not chained; they walked into the interview room by themselves,” the witness told the court.

He argued that if the defendants had indeed been chained, the sound of the restraints would have been captured in the video recordings of the interview sessions that were earlier played in court.

The witness also stated that none of the defendants requested the presence of lawyers, family members, officials of the Legal Aid Council or a Justice of the Peace during questioning.

He urged the court to admit both the statements and audiovisual recordings into evidence for the purposes of the trial.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyers, the witness maintained that the statements were not obtained under duress, even though legal representatives and other independent observers were not present during the interviews.

At the conclusion of the witness's testimony, Oyedepo announced the closure of the prosecution's case in the trial-within-trial after presenting four witnesses.

The six defendants are currently facing prosecution over allegations of involvement in a plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The defendants have denied wrongdoing, while the court continues to determine the admissibility of statements obtained during the investigation before the substantive trial proceeds.