The first Prosecution Witness (PW-1) in the trial-within-trial on Tuesday told a Federal High Court that suspects gave their confessional statements in the video recordings voluntarily.
The PW-1 gave his testimony while being led in evidence by the Federal Government’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Abdulmalik on Monday ordered a trial-within-trial following the defence lawyers’ objection to prosecution’s application to tender the video recordings as evidence.
They argued that their clients made the statements during the interview sessions under duress.
At the commencement of proceedings, the trial judge cautioned parties to restrict themselves to issues relating to voluntariness of the statements and avoid delving into substantive matters already pending in the main trial.
Oyedepo, who is also the Director, Public Prosecution for the Federation, informed the court that he had three witnesses lined up for the trial-within-trial.
The lawyer then called the PW-1, an officer of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police, who testified as the PW-4 in the main trial, to give his evidence.
Led in evidence, the witness told the court that the defendants were calm, unagitated and fully aware of their constitutional rights before making their statements.
He maintained that the investigation process complied with standard operating procedures and best investigative practices as stipulated by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
Oyedepo, thereafter, tendered the statements of the six defendants allegedly obtained by the Special Investigative Panel (SIP) and the Military Police.
Justice Abdulmalik admitted the 1st to 5th defendant’s statements as Exhibits A to E, while that of the 6th defendant was admitted as Exhibit F.
The prosecution also tendered a black external hard drive and a flash drive said to contain video recordings of the defendants’ extra-judicial statements, alongside certificates of identification.
Defence lawyers did not raise objections to their admissibility during the trial-within-trial and the court admitted the devices as Exhibits G, G1, H and H1.
Testifying, the witness insisted that no defendant was denied access to legal representation and that all the suspects were informed of their rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to engage counsel of their choice.
Speaking specifically on the 1st defendant, Maj-Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim Gana (rtd.), the witness described him as a highly respected senior military officer who remained calm throughout the interrogation process.
According to him, the defendant was placed in a properly ventilated room, cautioned about his rights and informed that any statement made could later be tendered in court as his own side of the story.
On allegations that the written statements did not correspond exactly with the recorded interviews, the witness explained that written accounts could not be word-for-word reproductions of oral interviews because “human beings are not computers.”
He also maintained that the military investigation team employed modern investigative techniques and had no reason to force suspects into making statements.
The PW-1, who testified under protection, gave similar testimony regarding the 2nd defendant, identified as Capt. (NN) Erasmus Ochegobia Victor (rtd.).
He stated that the senior military officer voluntarily elected to reduce his oral statement into writing after speaking in the recorded interview.
He denied allegations that the defendant was coerced into pleading for clemency and insisted that all statements were made freely in the interest of justice.
Regarding the 3rd defendant, identified as Inspector of the Nigeria Police Force, the witness dismissed claims of torture and coercion
He stated that the video recordings showed the defendant in a calm and relaxed posture throughout the interview process.
He also rejected suggestions that the defendant may have been restrained outside the camera frame, arguing that the duration and nature of the video showed no sign of tension or force.
On the 4th defendant, identified as Umoru Zekeri, the witness expressed surprise over allegations of involuntariness and maintained that the defendant freely narrated events and locations allegedly known only to him.
The witness also testified that the 5th defendant, identified as Bukar Kashim Goni, willingly gave his account after being informed of his rights.
He said Goni chose to tell his own side of the story.
Concerning the 6th defendant, an Islamic cleric, the PW-1 explained that an interpreter was provided after the defendant indicated he could neither speak nor write in English fluently.
He said the suspect’s statements were translated between Hausa and English in line with fair hearing requirements before they were read back to him for confirmation.
During cross-examination by defence counsel, the witness admitted that he was not a member of the Special Investigative Panel but stated that he participated intermittently in the investigation process.
He also acknowledged that the video recordings shown in court related only to statements made before the Military Police and not those taken before the SIP.
Under questioning, the witness admitted that some video recordings and written statements were made on different dates but maintained that the sequence did not affect their voluntariness so long as they were freely made.
The witness further confirmed that none of the statements tendered before the court bore endorsements by legal practitioners and that no lawyers, civil society representatives or Justices of the Peace were present during the recordings.
However, he insisted that all the defendants were informed of their rights to legal representation but did not request lawyers during the interrogation sessions.
He also admitted that some defendants were not shown physically writing their statements in the videos, explaining that oral accounts were later reduced into writing and endorsed by the suspects after being read back to them.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until May 13 for continuation of the trial-within-trial.(NAN)
