Alhaji of the Nigerian Air Force and sits at the Scorpion Officers’ Mess, Asokoro, Abuja.
A announcement issued to members of the court and other concerned parties on Wednesday said the sitting earlier adjourned to Wednesday had been postponed.
“The GCM sitting earlier adjourned to Wednesday, 30 September, 2026, has now been postponed to Monday, 5 October, 2026.
“The recent sitting is scheduled to initiate at 10am at the Scorpion Officers’ Mess, Asokoro, Abuja,” the observe stated.
The message, signed by the Liaison Officer, Significant M.U.
The General Court Martial sitting over the alleged coup plot involving some military officers has again postponed its ruling on the admissibility of statements made by the accused persons.
The ruling, earlier scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2026, has now been constant for Monday, October 5.
The court is presided over by Air Vice Marshal H.I. Ardo, did not offer reasons for the newest postponement but expressed regret over the inconvenience caused.
The newest development marks the fourth time the ruling has been deferred.
The ruling is expected to establish whether statements allegedly obtained from some of the accused officers can be admitted as evidence in the current trial.
The defence had challenged the admissibility of the statements, alleging that some of the officers were coerced by officials of the Defence Intelligence Agency into making or reproducing statements containing statistics they described as invalid.
The dispute over the statements led to a trial-during-trial, during which the defence called evidence to evaluate the circumstances in which the statements were obtained.
Defence lawyers argued that the statements failed to see the legal requirements for admissibility.
Between other things, they alleged that lawyers or witnesses chosen by some of the accused were not introduce when the statements were made.
The defence moreover questioned the absence of video recordings showing some of the officers writing their statements in the presence of their chosen witnesses, as required under appropriate provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
The lawyers extra alleged that some of the accused officers were neither properly cautioned nor adequately educated of their rights prior to making the statements.
The prosecution, yet, presented evidence aimed at establishing that the statements were made voluntarily and excluding improper pressure.
Some of the accused officers gave contrary accounts during the trial-indoors-a-trial, alleging that they were subjected to coercion, intimidation, inducement and tangible abuse although in detention.
According to evidence earlier than the court, some of the officers alleged that they were made to consider that reproducing individual statements would facilitate their launch.
They continued claimed that some statements had already been planned by intelligence officials and that they were compelled to duplicate or sign them despite allegedly having no knowledge of some of the matters contained in the documents.
Some too told the court that they did not personally originate or author the statements attributed to them, alleging that they were forced to reproduce pre-written documents containing claims or admissions they considered incorrect or unrelated to their knowledge.
The ruling on the admissibility of the disputed statements is expected to define whether the prosecution will be allowed to rely on the statements as component of its evidence in the current proceedings.
The postponement from this supplementary delays the court’s determination of a key evidentiary dispute in the military trial.
Source: Alleged Coup trial: Military shifts ruling to October 5
