Court approves FG’s bid to conceal witness identity in coup trial

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has approved an application by the Federal Government to conceal the identity of a key prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of six individuals accused of plotting a coup.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the ruling on Wednesday after hearing a request from the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo.

Oyedepo argued that revealing the identity of the witness, who is a serving officer, could expose the individual to “unnecessary attack.”

He relied on Section 232 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which empowers courts to adopt protective measures in cases considered sensitive.

The court agreed with the prosecution’s position, granting the request as proceedings continue in the high-profile case.

Lawyers to the defendants did not oppose the request for protection but argued that the defence must still be aware of the witness’s identity.

They said shielding the witness from the public may be justified, but concealing the identity from the defence could affect the defendants’ right to a fair hearing and affect proper cross-examination.

The defence urged the court to strike a balance between security considerations and the need to test the credibility of witnesses.

In a short ruling, Abdulmalik held that the application was justified, particularly given the allegations bordering on terrorism.

“The law permits protective measures, including non-disclosure of names, addresses and contact details where the court is satisfied that security concerns exist,” the judge said.

The court ordered that the witness’s identity must not appear in court records or proceedings accessible to parties or the public.

The judge also directed that a protective screen be set up before the witness gives evidence.

Earlier in the proceedings, three witnesses from Jaiz Bank, SunTrust Bank and Providus Bank testified for the prosecution.

They tendered documents obtained from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which were admitted in evidence by the court.

The federal government, through the office of the attorney-general of the federation, is prosecuting six suspects over an alleged plot to topple the Bola Tinubu administration.

The defendants in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/206/2026 include Gana; Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a serving police inspector; Zekeri Umoru; Bukar Kashim Goni and Abdulkadir Sani.

They were arraigned on 13 counts before the court on April 22.

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