The Nigerian Army has again deferred the ruling of the General Court Martial (GCM) trying some military officers accused of plotting to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The ruling, which was scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, has been rescheduled for Monday, October 5.
It is the fourth time the ruling has been postponed.
A notice issued to members of the court and other concerned parties said the GCM sitting earlier adjourned to September 30 had been postponed to October 5.
“The GCM sitting earlier adjourned to Wednesday, 30 September, 2026, has now been postponed to Monday, 5 October 2026,” the notice stated.
The sitting is scheduled to commence at 10am at the Scorpion Officers’ Mess, Asokoro, Abuja.
The notice, signed by the Liaison Officer, Major M.U. Ardo, did not state the reason for the latest postponement.
It only said: “Any inconvenience caused is highly regretted.”
The ruling concerns the admissibility of statements allegedly made by the accused officers, which the prosecution seeks to tender as evidence in the ongoing trial.
The issue followed objections by defence counsel to the admission of the statements, leading the court to conduct a trial-within-a-trial to determine whether they were voluntarily made.
During the proceedings, some of the accused officers alleged that officials of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) subjected them to coercion, intimidation, inducement and physical abuse while obtaining the statements.
Some of the officers told the court that statements had allegedly been prepared by intelligence officials and that they were subsequently compelled to reproduce or sign them.
They also claimed that some of the contents were unknown to them and that they did not personally originate the statements attributed to them.
The defence further challenged the circumstances in which the statements were obtained, arguing that some of the officers were not properly cautioned or adequately informed of their rights.
Counsel also questioned the alleged absence of lawyers or witnesses chosen by the accused officers during the recording of some of the statements.
They argued that video recordings were not made to show the accused officers writing their statements in the presence of their chosen witnesses, as required under relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
The prosecution, however, presented evidence seeking to establish that the statements were voluntarily made and without improper pressure.
The GCM is presided over by Air Vice Marshal H.I. Alhaji (NAF/2211).
The court is expected to rule on the admissibility of the disputed statements on October 5.
