The Federal High Court in Abuja has commenced a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of confessional statements made by suspects linked to the 2011 United Nations building bombing in Abuja.
During Friday’s proceedings, lawyers for both the prosecution and defence confirmed that they had jointly reviewed video recordings of the defendants’ interrogations in the presence of court officials.
The Department of State Services (DSS) informed the court that masked witnesses would testify in the mini-trial to address allegations by the defendants that their statements were obtained through coercion and intimidation.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who is presiding over the case, had earlier granted the DSS’s request for an accelerated hearing in the prolonged terrorism trial.
The case centres on Khalid Al-Barnawi, alleged mastermind of the August 26, 2011 attack on the UN building, which killed more than 20 people and injured over 70 others.
Arrested in 2016 in Lokoja, Kogi State, Al-Barnawi is accused of leading Ansaru, a splinter faction of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
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