A Federal High Court in Abuja has heard that international terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda allegedly supported members of the proscribed Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) in carrying out the May 15 attacks on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The court heard that the attacks were intended to force the Federal Government to release the group’s leaders who had been arrested and were being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS).
A prosecution witness, identified as ‘BBB’, told the court that following the abduction of students and teachers during the attacks, the terrorists submitted a list containing the names of 30 leaders and members they wanted the government to release, threatening to kill the victims if their demands were not met.
The DSS operative testified on Monday as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of five men accused of involvement in the Oriire attacks and other terrorist activities linked to Ansaru.
The defendants are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, also known as Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.
According to the prosecution, the defendants are from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State, and Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Oyedepo Rotimi, SAN, the witness said the decision by security agencies to launch a rescue operation followed the Federal Government’s refusal to negotiate with the terrorists or meet their demands.
BBB told the court that he became familiar with the defendants through his official duties. He particularly identified the first defendant, Muhammad, as one of the founding members of Boko Haram, whom he said had previously served as the group’s Head of Security and Intelligence.
The witness said Muhammad, whose father is from Okene in Kogi State and mother from Borno State, was among those who left Boko Haram in 2012 to establish Ansaru. According to him, the group was formed to promote its ideology of establishing Islamic governance in Nigeria and carrying out attacks against foreign nationals.
He added that Ansaru members believed foreign nationals were responsible for killing Muslims in other countries, a belief the witness said motivated the group’s kidnapping and killing of foreigners.
The witness further recalled that the killing of seven foreign nationals by members of the group in 2014 led the United States to designate Ansaru as a terrorist organisation and declare Muhammad a globally wanted terrorist.
According to BBB, Muhammad later assumed leadership of Ansaru and directed several kidnapping and killing operations, while appointing the second defendant, Abbas, as the group’s Head of Operations.
The witness alleged that Muhammad was responsible for the attack on the Emir of Potiskum and other operations in which 17 military officers and three civilians were killed.
He told the court that Muhammad was arrested in 2025 and that the group’s ideology required members to undertake operations to secure the release of their leaders whenever they were arrested.
BBB said following Muhammad’s arrest, Abbas allegedly identified high-profile targets for attacks as part of efforts to compel the government to release the detained leader.
The witness further alleged that on November 4, 2025, Ansaru members attacked the convoy of a House of Representatives member, Jafaru Mohammed Ali, who represents Agwara/Borgu. According to the testimony, four military personnel were killed and four DSS personnel injured in the incident.
He said the plan was to abduct the lawmaker, publicly humiliate him and use his release as a bargaining tool to secure the freedom of Muhammad, Abbas and other detained members of the group.
The witness also told the court that the group planned to attack the Wawa Military Base in New Bussa, Niger State, believing some of its members were being held there.
However, after the alleged plan to attack the military base failed, BBB said members of Ansaru moved to the South-West, where they believed media organisations could help publicise their demands and increase pressure on the Federal Government to release their detained leaders.
Addressing the Oriire attacks, the witness said he was part of the team that investigated the incident and maintained that members of Ansaru were responsible for the abduction of students and teachers.
He told the court that the victims were moved to a secured location in a forest near the Old Oyo National Park, where the attackers demanded the release of 30 of their members, including their leaders.
According to the witness, the terrorists threatened to kill all the captives if the government refused to meet their demands. He described the group’s members as hostile and said they opened fire on security operatives when the rescue operation was launched.
BBB further alleged that the attackers killed some of the captives and threatened to murder the remaining victims if security agencies continued their efforts to rescue them.
He said the killing of two victims during the incident prompted security operatives to intensify preparations for a rescue operation, particularly because of what he described as the group’s history of killing innocent people.
The witness disclosed that one of the strategies adopted by security agencies was the arrest of the wife of the second defendant and other family members of the group’s commanders who were active at the time.
According to him, the family members were taken into custody and the commanders were warned that their relatives would face consequences if more hostages were killed.
BBB said the measure contributed to a halt in the killings before the rescue operation was eventually carried out.
He confirmed that two victims were killed during the Oriire incident before the remaining captives were rescued. He also said security personnel, including a senior police officer and an Army officer, lost their lives during the operation.
Explaining the alleged roles of the third, fourth and fifth defendants, the witness said they were members of Ansaru who maintained communication with some of the group’s commanders, including a commander allegedly responsible for holding the Oriire victims.
He told the court that the attacks were carried out in line with an alleged directive from the group’s leadership that members should launch operations whenever senior leaders were arrested, with the aim of forcing the Federal Government to release them.
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The witness maintained that the attackers sought to pressure the government through abductions and other violent operations but that the authorities refused to negotiate with them.
He reiterated that the list submitted by the terrorists included the names of the first and second defendants, whom the group wanted released alongside other detained members.
BBB said security agencies eventually secured the release of the surviving victims, although two captives had been killed before the rescue operation and security personnel were also lost.
The witness maintained that the attackers sought to pressure the government through abductions and other violent operations but that the authorities refused to negotiate with them.
He reiterated that the list submitted by the terrorists included the names of the first and second defendants, whom the group wanted released alongside other detained members.
BBB said security agencies eventually secured the release of the surviving victims, although two captives had been killed before the rescue operation and security personnel were also lost.
