Nigeria, April 22 -- The Federal High Court in Abuja briefly halted the arraignment of individuals linked to a failed coup against the Bola Tinubu administration on Wednesday.

The unplanned break ensued due to the absence of an interpreter for one of the defendants. Abdulkadir Sani, who is a Zaria, Kaduna State-based Islamic cleric.

His lawyer, Sanusi Musa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said his client could not understand English language. The lawyer said Mr Sani understood only Hausa and Arabic.

Court officials apparently did not prepare an interpreter for the proceedings because they did not envisage a need for one would arise. Nigerian courts generally suffer shortage of interpreters, even though they are supposed to be suffi...