The sixth defendant in the ongoing trial of suspected coup plotters accused of targeting the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Sani Abdulkadir, has told the court that he warned those involved that the alleged plan would not succeed.
Abdulkadir made the disclosure on Monday during the resumed hearing of the case at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In a video recording played before the court, the Islamic cleric admitted receiving money to pray for the success of the alleged operation but said he warned the suspects that the plot would eventually be exposed from within.
According to him, he became acquainted with Maaji, identified as the alleged leader of the group, less than a year ago through an intermediary known as Sanda.
He said Sanda informed him that his “Oga” planned to carry out a coup and required spiritual support concerning the success of the mission.
Abdulkadir stated that after praying, he told them the operation would fail because two individuals would later reveal the plot.
He added that the suspects later requested more prayers to stop the two people from speaking out.
The cleric said money was subsequently transferred to him for prayers and charity purposes, while names of alleged participants were sent for inclusion in the prayers.
He explained that he first became aware of the arrests through media reports after Sanda informed him that Maaji had been unreachable for four days.
Abdulkadir maintained that the money he received was strictly for prayers and not to support any coup attempt.
He also admitted understanding that a coup meant a military takeover of government but said he did not report the matter because he did not know who to inform.
According to him, he was later arrested after visiting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to resolve restrictions placed on his bank account.
He said he was invited to explain the source of the funds and denied making any coup-related confession while in EFCC custody.
Abdulkadir further stated that he was neither tortured nor assaulted and insisted that all statements he made were voluntary.
Following the presentation of the video, the prosecution sought to tender extrajudicial statements made by the six defendants before investigators and military police authorities.
However, defence lawyers opposed the move, arguing that the statements were either not voluntarily obtained or violated provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
The objections included claims that the defendants were not informed of their rights to legal representation, alleged inconsistencies between video recordings and written statements, and accusations of coercion, inducement and torture.
Counsel to the fifth defendant also argued that the court should conduct separate trial-within-trial proceedings for each defendant instead of a combined hearing.
The prosecution, however, urged the court to reject the objections, insisting that the law does not require separate proceedings for each accused person.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik subsequently ruled in favour of a single joint trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of all disputed statements.
The case was adjourned until May 12.
The federal government had on April 22 arraigned six suspects on a 13-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow President Tinubu’s administration. All defendants pleaded not guilty.