A prosecution witness has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that international terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda supported members of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru) in planning the May 15, 2026 abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The witness, identified as ‘BBB’, said the attack was intended to pressure the Federal Government into releasing detained leaders and members of the group. He testified on Monday during the ongoing trial of five men accused of involvement in the operation.
According to the witness, the terrorists submitted a list of 30 members, including their leaders, to the government after abducting the victims. They allegedly threatened to kill the captives if their demands were not met.
The defendants are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, alias Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, known as Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, alias Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar. They are said to be from Kogi, Katsina and Niger states.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness said he knew the defendants through his official duties and had participated in the investigation into the Oriire attacks.
He identified the first defendant, Muhammad, as one of Boko Haram’s founding members, who allegedly served as the group’s head of security and intelligence before leaving in 2012 to establish Ansaru.
The witness said Muhammad later became Ansaru’s leader and appointed the second defendant, Abbas, as head of operations. He alleged that the group’s strategy was to launch attacks and abduct high-profile individuals whenever its leaders were arrested, with the aim of forcing their release.
BBB cited the November 4, 2025 attack on the convoy of House of Representatives member Jafaru Mohammed Ali, who represents Agwara/Borgu, as one such operation. According to the witness, four military personnel were killed and four Department of State Services personnel injured in the attack, which was allegedly intended to facilitate negotiations for the release of detained leaders.
He added that the group also planned to attack the Wawa military base in New Bussa, Niger State. After the plan failed, Ansaru members allegedly moved to the South-West, believing that media organisations in the region would help publicise their demands.
On the Oriire incident, the witness said the abducted students and teachers were taken to a secured location in a forest near the Old Oyo National Park. He alleged that the terrorists resisted security operatives during the rescue operation, killed one of the captives and threatened to execute others.
According to BBB, security agencies launched an offensive after the government refused to negotiate and two victims had been killed. The rescue operation secured the release of the remaining captives, although a senior police officer and an Army officer were among the security personnel killed.
The witness also alleged that Ansaru members had previously carried out attacks involving the killing of foreign nationals, adding that the group’s activities led to its designation as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the United States in 2014.
Further hearing in the case is scheduled for October 13 before Justice Salim Ibrahim.
