The trial of suspects linked to the 2025 Yelwata killings was abruptly halted on Tuesday after one of the defendants collapsed in court.
The nine defendants — Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono, Ardo Muhammadu Saidu, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Musa Mohammed, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Sale Mohammed, and Bako Jibrin — are facing a 57-count charge bordering on terrorism.
The incident occurred when Abdullahi, the third defendant, suddenly slumped shortly after the accused were brought into the courtroom around 10am.
Prison officials made efforts to revive him and returned him to his seat, but he remained unresponsive.
When the case was later called, Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, ruled that the defendant could not be considered present.
“You can’t say he is present,” the judge said, adding that he had “been like that for over an hour”.
Rotimi Oyedepo, director of public prosecutions, informed the court that prison authorities had confirmed the defendant was in stable condition before arriving in court.
Counsel to the third defendant, Ahmed Muhammad, appealed for an adjournment to allow immediate medical attention.
“The third defendant came in by himself, but unfortunately, he collapsed. We humbly request that he be taken to a facility for treatment,” he said.
Another defence lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu, also urged the court to prioritise treatment on humanitarian grounds.
“Human beings are very fragile. If he is pretending, when we get to the hospital, they will tell us, because one has to be alive to face trial,” he said.
Oyedepo subsequently applied for an adjournment to enable prison officials attend to the defendant — a request the court granted.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case to March 30 for continuation of proceedings and directed that hearing notices be issued to absent defence counsel.
The defendants were arraigned on February 2 over the attack in Yelwata community, Benue State, which reportedly claimed 150 lives. All nine defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.