The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered that six defendants be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) following their arraignment on a 13-count of alleged terrorism.
Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation, inform the court that the charge was ready, seeking leave for it to be read to the defendants.
Proceedings were briefly disrupted after the third defendant informed the court that his counsel was indisposed.
In a separate development, counsel to the sixth defendant told the court his client understood only Arabic and Hausa, prompting an adjournment to enable the provision of an interpreter.
When proceedings resumed at about 2:18pm, all six defendants took their pleas and denied the charges, pleading not guilty to all 13 counts.
Following their arraignment, the prosecution applied for the defendants to be remanded in DSS custody and urged the court to grant an accelerated hearing of the matter.
The request was largely unopposed by defence counsel, although counsel to the first defendant indicated plans to file a bail application.
Ruling on the applications, the trial judge ordered accelerated hearing of the case and directed that the defendants remain in DSS custody, with access to their legal representatives.
The matter was subsequently adjourned till April 27, 2026, for commencement of trial proceedings.