The trial of suspects linked to the deadly attack in
Yelwata community was on Thursday adjourned by the Federal High Court in Abuja
after a request from a defence lawyer who said he had just taken over the case.
Counsel to the 8th and 9th defendants, Y. A. Hassan,
told the court it was his first appearance in the matter and asked for a short
adjournment to allow him study the case.
Hassan explained that the previous lawyer handling the
matter had not yet handed over the case file, leaving him unable to fully
prepare for the proceedings.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo,
did not oppose the request but urged the court to grant only a brief
adjournment.
In her ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the
request but warned that the case carries significant public interest and would
not tolerate unnecessary delays.
She noted that the court was “bending over backwards”
to accommodate the defence and subsequently adjourned the matter to March 9 and
10 for a day-to-day trial.
Background to the Case
The Federal Government of Nigeria had earlier
arraigned several suspects linked to the Yelwata killings before Justice
Abdulmalik on February 2.
The defendants were charged with a 57-count charge and
pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them through an interpreter.
Following their arraignment, the Attorney General of
the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, requested an accelerated trial and informed the
court that eight witnesses were ready to testify.
Despite oral bail applications by lawyers representing
the first, eighth, and ninth defendants, the court ordered that the suspects be
remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the commencement of the trial.
The Yelwata Attack
The case stems from a deadly attack on the Yelwata
community in June 2025, when gunmen stormed the area, killing scores of
residents and displacing hundreds.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation and
protests across the country.
During a hearing before the United States Congress, a
survivor, Msurshima Apeh, recounted the horrific moment she watched her five
children being killed during the attack.
According to her testimony, she managed to escape by
climbing a tree while the attackers slaughtered her children below.
Following the incident, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
visited Benue State and directed security agencies to intensify efforts to
apprehend those responsible.
The attack added to a growing wave of violence in the
state, including earlier killings in the Otobi community, where four people
were murdered, among them Igbabe Ochi, a former state assembly candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party.
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