The trial of nine suspects linked to the June 2025 Yelwata killings, which reportedly left about 150 people dead, was on Tuesday disrupted after one of the defendants collapsed in court.
The 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 57 terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.
They had all pleaded not guilty and have been standing trial while in custody.
Proceedings before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court were meant to continue a trial-within-trial to determine whether the defendants’ confessional statements were admissible.
However, the session was interrupted when the third defendant, Abdullahi, suddenly slumped shortly after being brought into the courtroom around 10am.
Court officials and prison warders attempted to revive him and later assisted him back to his seat, but he remained unresponsive.
When the case was called around noon, a court official confirmed that all defendants were present, but the judge disagreed, noting that the collapsed defendant had been unresponsive for over an hour.
“You can’t say he is present,” Justice Abdulmalik said.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Director of Public Prosecutions, said prison officials had earlier confirmed the defendant was fit before arrival in court.
Defence counsel Ahmed Muhammad urged the court to allow urgent medical attention, saying the defendant had collapsed unexpectedly after entering the courtroom.
Another defence lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), also appealed on humanitarian grounds, stressing the need for immediate treatment.
The prosecution did not oppose the request and instead sought an adjournment to allow prison authorities to attend to the defendant.
Justice Abdulmalik granted the request and ordered that hearing notices be served on absent defence counsel.
The case was adjourned until 30 and 31 March for continuation of hearing.
The defendants were first arraigned on 2 February over their alleged involvement in the 13 June 2025 attack on Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
During earlier proceedings, the prosecution presented its first witness, a police officer, who detailed how the attack was allegedly carried out and linked some defendants to recovered weapons.
When prosecution attempted to tender the defendants’ statements, the defence objected, prompting the court to order a trial-within-trial.
At a later hearing, the prosecution claimed the statements were voluntary and recorded, but the case faced further delay after the video evidence device was said to have been corrupted, drawing concern from the court.