The Department of State Services (DSS) has urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to admit in evidence statements made by three terror suspects accused of spying on American and Israeli interests in Nigeria for certain individuals in Iran.

Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussaini Musa and Adam Suleiman were arrested in Kano and Lagos in 2013 and were arraigned on terrorism-related charges.

In the course of trial, the defendants objected to the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements they made during investigation, claiming not to have made them voluntarily. This prompted the court to conduct a trial-within-trial.

On Wednesday, lawyers to parties adopted their final written addresses in relation to the trial-within-trial, following which Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned ruling till a date to be communicated to the parties.

Prosecuting lawyer, Bello Abu, while adopting his final written address, took the court through the evidence supplied by the prosecution in the trial-within-trial to establish that the defendants made the statement voluntarily.

The DSS counsel faulted a claim by the defendants that they were compelled to make the statements. He argued that such came as an afterthought.

He prayed the court to admit the statements in evidence and proceed with the substantive trial.

Defence lawyers – Aliyu Yawuri, Bala Dakun and Bello Ibrahim – argued otherwise, and prayed the court to reject the statements.

According to the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/129/2014, Abbas was said to have been arrested on March 16, 2013 at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on his way from Lebanon.

Abbas is accused of recruiting young Nigerians, including Musa and Suleiman, for terrorism training in Iran.

He is also accused of participating in terrorist meetings, and equally alleged to have rendered support to an act of terrorism by agreeing to send persons for terrorist training in Iran.

Abbas is equally accused of “embarking on an act preparatory to an act of terrorism by compiling a list of American and Israeli concerns in Lagos, and their locations in map which included USA Consular office in Lagos and sent them to one Abu Ali in Iran using coded language with encryption software through his email addresses.”

On their part, Musa and Suleiman are charged with “conspiracy to do an act preparatory to an act of terrorism by obtaining Nigeria’s international passport and Iranian visa for the purpose of travelling to Iran for terrorist training.”

They are equally accused of “carrying on an act preparatory to an act of terrorism by carrying out in Abuja, Kano and Lagos surveillance on United States of America and Israeli embassies preparatory to terrorist attack.” (Zagazola)