The first prosecution witness in the trial-within-trial of the nine defendants accused of the June 13, 2025 Yelwata attack in Benue State has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the defendants were not coerced into giving their confessional statements.

The witness, Chief Superintendent of Police, Moses Paul, who is a team leader with the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigerian Police Force, told the court that all the defendants gave their confessional statements in the presence of their lawyer, with the attendance of a family member, under a conducive atmosphere.

CSP Paul also testified before the court that, prior to the taking of their statements, the defendants were marched to the Commissioner of Police in charge of the IRT, where they made confessional statements of their alleged involvement in the attack, which were recorded audio-visually.

The witness told the court that defendants, who were not literate, were provided an interpreter and a writer, who was a police officer.

Paul said after the statements were taken, they were read all over to the defendants, with them acknowledging that the statements represented all that transpired.

On the health status of the first defendant, whose counsel alleged that he suffered a partial stroke as a result of police treatment, the witness told the court that he had an altercation with an inmate who was in custody at the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigerian Police Force in Benue State.

The witness said the first defendant had a medical emergency while in custody, which led to his slump, and he was transferred to a hospital. He said it was later confirmed that the first defendant had an underlying health condition which led to a partial stroke.

During the trial-within-trial, the prosecution witness told the court that the storage devices containing the video evidence were corrupted, prompting the prosecution counsel to apply for a later date to present the video evidence and serve it on the defence counsel.

While ruling on the adjournment, Justice Joyce Abdullahi cautioned the prosecution counsel that their actions were delaying the trial and that the defence counsels were ready to cross-examine.

The trial judge, however, adjourned to the 24th of March, 2026, for the continuation of the trial-within-trial.