Suspected Coup Plotters Being Ushered Into The Courtroom In Abuja
By SAM POPOOLA, Lagos
Journalists may be unable to report proceedings in the ongoing trial of six persons accused of plotting a coup against the government of President Bola Tinubu, following an order of the Federal High Court in Abuja restricting media access to the courtroom.
When journalists and other interested observers arrived at the court on Monday to cover the bail hearing of the defendants, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly asked them to vacate the courtroom shortly before the presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, took her seat.
Sources at the court said the directive emanated from the judge.
As of the time this report was filed, journalists had complied with the instruction and left the courtroom.
The development comes amid heightened public interest in the case involving the six defendants, who were arraigned last Wednesday by the Federal Government over an alleged failed coup plot.
Those standing trial are Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired major-general; Erasmus Victor, a retired navy captain; Ahmed Ibrahim, a police inspector; and Zekeri Umoru, an electrician attached to the Presidential Villa.
Others are Bukar Goni and Abdulkadir Sani, both Islamic clerics based in Zaria.
0 Comments