The trial of suspects linked to the 2025 Yelwata killings was halted on Tuesday after one of the defendants slumped in court.
READ ALSO: Yelwata Massacre: Trial Stalled Again As Court Adjourns To March 9
The disruption occurred when the third defendant, Haruna Abdullahi, suddenly collapsed shortly after he and the other defendants were brought into the courtroom at about 10 a.m.
Prison officials attempted to revive him and returned him to his seat, but he remained unresponsive.
When the case was called hours later, the Presiding Judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, said the defendant could not be deemed present.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that prison authorities confirmed that the defendant was in stable condition before arriving in court.
Counsel for the third defendant, Ahmed Muhammad, urged the court to adjourn to allow immediate medical attention.
He said the third defendant came in by himself, but unfortunately, collapsed.
He requested that he be taken to a facility for treatment.
Another defence lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu, also pressed for treatment on humanitarian grounds.
“Human beings are very fragile. If he is pretending, when we get to the hospital, they will tell us, because one has to be alive to face trial,” he said.
Oyedepo subsequently applied for an adjournment to enable prison officials to attend to the defendant — a request the court granted.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter to March 30 for continuation of proceedings and directed that hearing notices be served on absent defence counsel.
The defendants were arraigned on February 2 over the attack, which left 150 people dead in the Yelwata community of Benue state.
The nine defendants — Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono, Ardo Muhammadu Saidu, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Musa Mohammed, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Sale Mohammed, and Bako Jibrin — are facing a 57-count charge bordering on terrorism.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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