The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday admitted in evidence a compact disc containing the recorded statements of defendants standing trial over alleged killings in Benue State.
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The disc was tendered by prosecution counsel, Mariam Okorie, who informed the court that the defendants had been served with the material.
Counsel for the defendants did not oppose the application, following which the trial judge admitted the disc and marked it as Exhibit TWT1.
During proceedings, the court played the video recording in open court.
In the footage, a prosecution witness, Paul Moses, said the recordings captured the defendants at the point of arrest in Benue, their transfer to the Intelligence Response Team, and the taking of their statements in the presence of their lawyers and family members.
One of the clips featured the third defendant, Haruna Abdullahi, responding to questions from an investigating officer.
Abdullahi confirmed his personal details, including that he has four wives and 15 children.
He stated in the video that he lost about 100 cows and two children, alleging that other Fulani herders also suffered similar losses around May last year.
He said an Ardo subsequently convened a meeting, which he attended due to the losses he suffered.
According to him, he contributed N300,000 during the meeting, which he described as part of efforts to seek revenge.
The defendant also disclosed that he previously owned an AK-47 rifle but had sold it.
In another clip, Abdullahi alleged that hundreds of cattle and rams belonging to him and others were killed, blaming Tiv youths for the attacks.
He stated that the situation forced several herders to flee and led to multiple meetings among community leaders.
He admitted attending one such meeting and contributing money, claiming that the government failed to address their grievances.
In a separate recording, Abdullahi said he was asked to pay N300,000 alongside others following directives from an Ardo, who allegedly instructed households to contribute after losses of livestock.
However, he said he was unaware whether the contributions were ultimately used to fund any attack.
While the videos were being played, counsel for the third defendant raised concerns over the accuracy of the court interpreter, alleging that the interpretation of the Hausa-language recordings was defective.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik asked whether the defence intended to apply for the interpreter to be discharged.
Counsel for the third defendant, Ahmed Muhammad, responded in the affirmative.
The trial judge subsequently discharged the interpreter and directed the prosecution to provide another interpreter before the next adjourned date.
The PUNCH reports that the trial was stalled at the last hearing after the third defendant, Abdullahi, slumped shortly after being brought into the courtroom.
Court officials and prison warders attempted to revive him and later assisted him back to his seat, but he remained unresponsive.
Meanwhile, following the testimony of the first prosecution witness, Paul Moses, the prosecution had sought to tender the defendants’ statements, but the defence objected, prompting the court to order a trial-within-trial.
Proceedings later suffered a setback after the prosecution disclosed that the device containing the video recording of the confessional statements was corrupted, drawing caution from the court over delays.
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