The Federal High Court in Abuja has opened a trial-within-trial to examine allegations of coercion and intimidation raised by defendants in the ongoing prosecution of suspects linked to the 2011 bombing of the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja.
During Friday’s proceedings, both prosecution and defence counsels confirmed that they had jointly reviewed video recordings of the defendants’ interrogations in the presence of court officials.
The Department of State Services (DSS) also informed the court that masked witnesses would testify during the trial-within-trial to address the defendants’ claims that their statements were obtained under duress.
This development follows an earlier ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite, who granted the DSS’s request for an accelerated hearing in the long-running terrorism case.
The case involves Khalid Al-Barnawi, alleged mastermind of the August 26, 2011 UN building bombing that claimed more than 20 lives and left over 70 others injured.
Al-Barnawi, who was arrested in 2016 in Lokoja, Kogi State, by the DSS, is accused of leading Ansaru, a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
