Olayiwola Matthew
The Nigerian military has convened a general court-martial to prosecute 36 personnel accused of participating in an alleged plot to topple the administration of President Bola Tinubu, a move that has triggered debate among legal experts over jurisdiction.
The panel, constituted by the Defence Headquarters, was inaugurated on Friday at the Scorpion Mess in Asokoro, Abuja, amid tight security. Proceedings were conducted behind closed doors despite the significance of the case.
Accredited defence correspondents and other journalists who had been invited were denied entry into the venue. Security operatives also prohibited the use of mobile phones, preventing documentation of the defendants’ arrival.
The accused personnel were conveyed to the location in a bus belonging to the Army Headquarters Garrison at about 8:53 a.m.
The military trial is running concurrently with criminal proceedings initiated by the Federal Government at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
On April 22, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, arraigned a separate group of suspects before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik over the same alleged conspiracy.
The defendants—comprising retired military officers, a police inspector, and civilians—pleaded not guilty to a 13-count charge that includes treason, terrorism, and money laundering.
According to the prosecution, the suspects allegedly conspired in 2025 to overthrow the government and failed to disclose the plot to relevant authorities.
The court subsequently ordered their remand in the custody of the Department of State Services, with an accelerated hearing fixed for April 27.
The parallel trials have sparked a legal controversy, with senior advocate and human rights lawyer Femi Falana calling on the Attorney-General to discontinue the military proceedings and consolidate all cases before the Federal High Court.
Falana maintained that offences such as treason and terrorism fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court under Section 251 of the Constitution.
He questioned the rationale behind prosecuting some suspects in a civilian court while subjecting others to a military tribunal over the same allegations.
“Courts-martial lack the jurisdiction to handle such grave constitutional offences,” Falana stated, noting that even under past military regimes, coup-related cases were typically handled by special tribunals rather than standard courts-martial.
The military had earlier disclosed that the alleged coup plot was uncovered through internal intelligence operations, which led to the arrests of those involved.
Meanwhile, families of the accused, alongside activist Omoyele Sowore, have called for a transparent, civilian-led trial to safeguard the fundamental rights of the defendants.
