A witness from the Department of State Services (DSS), identified only as “AAA” to protect her identity, on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how the kidnapped students and teachers from schools in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State spent 56 days in captivity.
The witness, led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, told Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim that the victims were moved between several locations and endured difficult conditions before security forces rescued them.
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She stated that the group that abducted them claimed to belong to the proscribed Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) and said the kidnapping was intended to pressure the government to release some of their members.
According to the witness, two teachers among the captives, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were killed by the captors. The victims’ phones were seized and used to contact relatives and officials. Food and water were in short supply during the period of captivity.
The defendants — Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a / Abbas Mukhtar), Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam / Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri), Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa / Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar) — face seven counts under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. The charges include terrorism, causing the deaths of the two teachers, conspiracy, aiding kidnapping, and failing to disclose information about imminent acts of terrorism.
Defence counsel Bala Dakum is scheduled to cross-examine the DSS witness on 18 September. Justice Ibrahim ordered that the defendants remain in DSS custody for the duration of the trial.
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