The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, adjourned the trial-within-trial of five defendants who allegedly bombed the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja until 5 December.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date after the video evidence of the 1st defendant was played and watched in the courtroom.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the trial-within-trial is to determine the genuineness or otherwise of the allegations by the defendants that they made their extra-judicial statements to the State Security Service (SSS, also called DSS) under duress.
The five terror suspects led by Khalid Al‑Barnawi are accused by the SSS of being the masterminds of the 26 August 2011 bombing of the UN Complex in Abuja, during which 20 people were killed and more than 70 others injured.
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Captured in 2016, Mr Al-Barnawi is facing trial along with four other defendants, including Mohammed Saleh, Umar Bello, aka Datti, Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu, aka Bello Maishayi.
The trial had been delayed for an extended period due to legal and procedural issues, including the suspects being occasionally brought to court without any counsel appearing for them.
The SSS recently sought an accelerated hearing in the case, a request Justice Nwite granted.
At Friday’s proceedings, three video clips on how the statements of Mr Al-Barnawi were made were played in the open court by SSS lawyers to debunk the allegations of the defendants that their statements were not made voluntarily.
After the conclusion of the video evidence of Mr Al-Barnawi, the judge fixed 5 December for the commencement of the video watch on the other defendants.
Earlier on Friday, Justice Nwite, in another charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/129/2014, delivered a ruling on the admissibility of exhibits tendered by the SSS against three suspected terrorists.
In the ruling, the judge admitted the extra-judicial statements made by the defendants.
The defendants are Haruna Abbas, Ibrahim Musa and Adam Sulaiman, who are named as the 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.
They are being tried for allegedly spying on the US and Israel’s interests for individuals in Iran.
The case, which has been ongoing since 2014 and re-assigned multiple times, reached a point in August 2025 during a trial-within-trial to determine if the defendants’ alleged extra-judicial statements were made voluntarily or under duress.
The defendants claimed that they were coerced, harassed and intimidated to make their statements, while the prosecution argued that the statements were made voluntarily and in a conducive atmosphere.
The prosecution claimed that the accused persons read through the statements, through the cautionary words and signed, hence, should be admitted in evidence.
Justice Nwite, who ordered a trial-within-trial, allowed both parties to call witnesses who gave evidence.
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The prosecution, who called three witnesses, said they conducted their operations within the best standard procedure, as they paid attention to the welfare of suspects in their custody in terms of food and medications, while also allowing them access to their families.
The defendants, on the other hand, recounted their alleged torture in the SSS facility, alleging that they were beaten and given inhuman treatment.
After hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence counsel, Justice Nwite on Friday ruled that the defendants’ statements be admitted in evidence.
The judge held that the prosecution, through the witnesses, proved to the court that they were not forced to make their statements.
“In view of the foregoing, I am of the view and so hold that the extra-judicial statement of the defendant is admissible in evidence.
“Consequently, same is hereby admitted and marked as Exhibit 3 and 3A respectively,” he declared.
Justice Nwite then adjourned the matter until 22 January 2026 for a substantive hearing.
(NAN)
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