A Department of State Services (DSS) operative has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that members of the proscribed terrorist group Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) abducted students and teachers in Oyo State to pressure the Federal Government into releasing detained leaders.
The prosecution witness, identified as BBB, testified on Monday that the group submitted a list of 30 members and leaders it wanted released, threatening to kill the hostages if the government failed to meet its demands.
The witness gave evidence as the second prosecution witness in the trial of five men accused of involvement in the May 15 attacks in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
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, also known as Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, alias Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), BBB said the attacks followed a pattern in which ANSARU members allegedly carried out operations to force the government to release detained commanders.
He identified the first defendant, Muhammad, as one of the founding members of Boko Haram who left the group in 2012 to establish ANSARU. According to him, Muhammad later became a leader of the group and appointed the second defendant, Abbas, as its head of operations.
The witness alleged that the group’s activities included kidnappings and killings, particularly targeting foreign nationals, whom its members accused of killing Muslims abroad.
He told the court that the killing of seven foreign nationals in 2014 led the United States to designate ANSARU as a terrorist organisation and declare Muhammad a globally wanted terrorist.
BBB also linked the group to an attack on the convoy of a member of the House of Representatives, Jafaru Mohammed Ali, on November 4, 2025. The lawmaker represents Agwara/Borgu, while the attack reportedly left four military personnel dead and four DSS operatives injured.
According to the witness, the operation was intended to abduct the lawmaker and use him to negotiate the release of detained ANSARU leaders, including the first and second defendants.
“Their plan was to kidnap him, humiliate him publicly, and demand that the FG release the first and second defendants who were in custody,” he said.
He added that the group also planned to attack Wawa Military Base in New Bussa, Niger State, because its members believed some of their detained associates were being held there. After that plan failed, the group allegedly moved its operations to the South-West, where it expected media coverage to amplify its demands.
Turning to the Oriire attacks, BBB said the abducted students and teachers were taken to a secure location in a forest near the Old Oyo National Park.
“They made a demand and submitted a list of 30 members, including their leaders, to the government, warning that if their demands were not met, they would kill the victims,” he told the court.
The witness alleged that the kidnappers were hostile towards security operatives who attempted to rescue the victims, adding that one hostage was killed during the confrontation.
He said security agencies eventually launched an offensive after two victims had been killed, citing the group’s alleged history of killing captives as a reason for the operation.
BBB further told the court that security operatives arrested the wife of the second defendant and other relatives of the group’s commanders as part of efforts to stop further killings.
“Security men took the wife of the second defendant, including other family members of the commanders, who were active then,” he said, adding that the relatives were warned that their family members would also be killed if the hostages were harmed.
The witness said the measure helped halt further killings until the rescue operation was conducted. He added that security personnel, including a senior police officer and an Army officer, were among those killed during the operation.
He maintained that the third, fourth and fifth defendants were ANSARU members who communicated with some commanders, including one allegedly holding the Oriire hostages.
The witness said the group’s actions were driven by an alleged strategy to launch attacks whenever senior members were arrested, with the aim of forcing the government to release them. He added that the Federal Government refused to negotiate with the group.
Further hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday at 9am before Justice Salim Ibrahim.
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