The Nigerian Army has postponed for the fourth time the ruling of the General Court Martial handling the case involving military officers accused of plotting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The ruling, which was scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, has now been moved to Monday, October 5, according to a notice issued to members of the court and other parties involved in the proceedings.

The new sitting is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Scorpion Officers’ Mess in Asokoro, Abuja.

The notice, signed by Major M.U. Ardo, the court’s liaison officer, did not give a reason for the latest postponement but expressed regret over any inconvenience caused.

The ruling is expected to determine whether statements attributed to some of the accused officers can be admitted as evidence in the ongoing trial.

The issue followed objections by defence lawyers, who challenged the circumstances under which the statements were obtained. The objections led to a trial-within-a-trial to determine whether the statements were made voluntarily and could be admitted by the court.

Defence counsel alleged that some of the officers were subjected to coercion, intimidation and physical abuse by officials of the Defence Intelligence Agency DIA while in detention.

They also questioned whether the accused officers had lawyers or witnesses of their choice present when the statements were made and raised concerns about the absence of video recordings showing the process.

Some of the accused officers told the court that they were pressured to reproduce statements allegedly prepared by intelligence officials, despite disputing parts of their contents.

The prosecution, however, presented evidence seeking to establish that the statements were voluntarily made and were not obtained through improper pressure.

The General Court Martial is presided over by Air Vice Marshal H.I. Alhaji of the Nigerian Air Force.

The latest postponement means the court will now return on October 5 to rule on the admissibility of the disputed statements, an issue central to the continuation of the military trial.