By James
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Fresh revelations emerged on Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja as an Islamic cleric standing trial alongside other defendants in an alleged coup plot case told investigators he had warned the conspirators that their mission to overthrow the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would ultimately collapse.
The disclosure surfaced during the continuation of proceedings in the high-profile trial involving six defendants accused of conspiring to destabilize Nigeria’s democratic government before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
During the hearing, the court watched a video recording containing the alleged confession of the sixth defendant, Sheikh Sani Abdulkadir, who described himself as an Islamic cleric. In the recording, Abdulkadir explained that he was approached through an intermediary identified as Sanda, who allegedly informed him that his superior, said to be one Colonel Ma’aji, was planning a military takeover and needed spiritual guidance concerning the success of the operation.
According to the defendant, after conducting prayers and divination, he warned the alleged conspirators that the coup would fail and that those involved would eventually be betrayed and exposed. He added that a message was later relayed back to him requesting additional prayers to prevent the anticipated betrayal.
Abdulkadir further stated that money was subsequently transferred to him allegedly for prayers and charitable activities, while names of individuals connected to the alleged plot were also forwarded to him for inclusion in the prayers.
The cleric told investigators that he later became suspicious after learning that Colonel Ma’aji had disappeared for several days before media reports surfaced about arrests linked to an alleged coup conspiracy. He maintained that the money sent to him was strictly for religious purposes and not payment for supporting any unconstitutional act.
He also admitted he never reported the alleged discussions to security agencies despite understanding that a coup referred to the forceful overthrow of a government.
Narrating how he was eventually arrested, Abdulkadir said he became aware that his bank account had been restricted after attempting to access the transferred funds. He explained that his visit to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the account restriction eventually led to his detention and interrogation.
Before the video ended, the defendant insisted he was neither assaulted nor tortured and that the statements he made were voluntary.
The courtroom proceedings later shifted to a legal battle over the admissibility of statements and video recordings obtained from the defendants. Lawyers representing the six accused persons separately opposed the prosecution’s attempt to tender the statements as evidence, arguing that the confessions were either involuntary or obtained in violation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA.
Defence counsel alleged that some defendants were denied legal representation during interrogation, while others argued that the recordings did not accurately reflect the circumstances under which the statements were obtained. Some lawyers also alleged coercion, inducement, intimidation and procedural irregularities during the investigation process.
The prosecution, however, urged the court to reject the objections and argued that the law permits a single trial-within-trial proceeding to determine whether the disputed statements were voluntarily made.
In a ruling, Justice Abdulmalik ordered a joint trial-within-trial for all six defendants to determine the admissibility and voluntariness of both the written and video confessional statements.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until May 12, 2026, for continuation of proceedings in what is emerging as one of Nigeria’s most closely watched security-related trials.
