“The president of the military court deemed the magistrates’ reluctance to handle the case of those charged with the attempted coup d’etat as insubordination,” military sources told the ANG website.

It added that the five magistrates stopped going to work on 13 April after presenting themselves to the chief of staff of the armed forces, Gen Biague Na N’Tan.

The magistrates said that the case was not within their jurisprudence and should be handled by the civil courts.

In February last year, unidentified gunmen stormed the government palace and held the president and prime minister hostage for over six hours before the military ended the siege.

Eighteen suspects have since been charged in connection with the incident.