‘Coup’: I took money for prayers but warned plotters they would fail – Cleric

Sani Abdulkadir, a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, has admitted in court that he received money to pray for the success of an alleged coup plot against the administration of Bola Tinubu, but claimed he warned those involved that the plan would fail.

Abdulkadir, who is the sixth defendant in the ongoing trial of alleged coup plotters, made the disclosure during the resumed hearing of the case before the federal high court in Abuja on Monday.

According to reports by counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama, a video recording played in court showed the cleric stating that he informed the suspects that the operation would eventually be exposed from within.

In the recording, Abdulkadir said he had known the alleged ringleader, identified simply as Maaji, for less than a year and was introduced to the matter through an intermediary known as Sanda.

He said Sanda informed him that his “Oga” intended to stage a coup and needed prayers concerning the likelihood of success.

After conducting the prayers, Abdulkadir said he warned them that the operation would fail because two persons would expose the conspiracy.

According to him, the suspects later returned with another request asking for prayers to prevent the two individuals from speaking out.

The cleric said money was subsequently transferred to him for prayers and charity purposes, while names of alleged participants were also sent for inclusion in the prayers.

Abdulkadir stated that he only became aware of the arrests through media reports after Sanda informed him that Maaji had gone missing for four days.

He maintained that the funds he received were solely for prayers and not to support any coup attempt.

The cleric also acknowledged that he understood a coup to mean the forceful military overthrow of a government but admitted that he did not report the alleged plot because he did not know who to report it to.

According to him, he was eventually arrested after visiting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to resolve restrictions placed on his bank account.

He explained that officials invited him to explain the source of the funds deposited into the account.

Abdulkadir denied making any coup-related statement while in EFCC custody and insisted that he was neither tortured nor assaulted, adding that all statements he made were voluntary.

Following the video playback, the prosecution sought to tender extrajudicial statements made by all six defendants before a special investigation panel and military police authorities.

However, defence lawyers objected, arguing that the statements were either obtained involuntarily or in violation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

The defence cited several grounds for objection, including alleged failure to inform the defendants of their right to legal representation, discrepancies between video recordings and written statements, allegations of coercion and torture, and claims that the recordings did not properly reflect the defendants’ physical condition during interrogation.

Counsel to the fifth defendant also argued that the court should conduct separate trial-within-trial proceedings for each disputed statement rather than a combined hearing.

In response, the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the objections, arguing that the law does not require separate proceedings for each defendant and that the trial judge has the discretion to determine how evidence is received.

The presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, ruled in favour of a single joint trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness and admissibility of the disputed statements.

The matter was adjourned until May 12.

The Federal Government had on April 22 arraigned six suspects over allegations of plotting a coup to overthrow the government of Bola Tinubu.

The defendants were arraigned on a 13-count charge bordering on terrorism-related offences and all pleaded not guilty.

The accused persons include Mohammed Gana, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired naval captain, Ahmed Ibrahim, a serving police inspector, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Kashim Goni and Sani Abdulkadir.

Former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, was also mentioned in the charge and is reportedly declared at large.

The defendants are accused of waging war against Nigeria and engaging in acts bordering on treason and terrorism.