40 Draw Sentences in Nigerian Coup Plot

Forty people, including former military ruler Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, were convicted in a coup plot trial that has riveted Nigerians for the last six weeks, the government announced Friday.

The secret trials--condemned by governments and human rights organizations worldwide--involved 51 military and civilian suspects and concluded Friday.

There have been many unconfirmed reports that some of the suspects had already been sentenced and executed, as has been the case in some past coup trials.

The government alleged it had foiled a plot planned for March to overthrow military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha, who took power in a bloodless coup in November, 1993.