How Oriire’s kidnapping was planned by the Ansaru terrorist group with the support of Al-Qaeda -:Witness

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, heard how the international terrorist organization Al-Ql-Qeada supported members of the proscribed terrorist group, Jama”atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), to organize the May 15 attacks on schools in Oriire Local Government, Oyo State.

The attack, the court also heard, was aimed at forcing the federal government to release its leaders who had been arrested and prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS).

A prosecution witness, identified as “BBB”, also told the court that after the abduction of students and teachers during the attacks, the terrorists presented the federal government with a list containing 30 names of their leaders and members, who demanded that it be released, otherwise they would kill the victims.

The witness, a DSS officer, testified on Monday as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of five men, said to be members of Ansaru, and accused of complicity in the Oriire attacks.

The five accused are: 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 (alias Abu Yunusa Bin Musa) and Shamsu Adamu Sani (alias Abu Itisar).

According to the prosecution, the accused are from Okene Local Government Area (LGA), Kogi State; Daura LGA, Katsina State, and Suleja LGA, Niger State.

Led by the Prosecutor of the Federation (DPPF), Oyedepo Rotimi (SAN), BBB said the operation carried out by the security operatives, which led to the rescue of the kidnapping victims, was motivated by the refusal of the federal government to negotiate with the terrorists and meet their demands.

The witness said he met the five accused in the course of his official duties, adding that he particularly knew the first accused (Muhammad) in Maiduguri as one of the founding fathers of Boko Haram, who was once the group’s head of security and intelligence.

He said Muhammad, whose father is from Okene in Kogi State, and his mother from Borno State, was among those who left Boko Haram in 2012 and founded the Ansaru group to propagate their ideology of establishing an Islamic government in the country and carrying out attacks on foreign nationals.

The witness said members of the group believed that foreign nationals were killing their Muslim brothers abroad, hence their decision to kidnap and kill foreigners.

He recalled that the killing of seven foreigners by members of the group in 2014 led the United States to designate ANSARU as a proscribed terrorist group and declare Muhammad a globally wanted terrorist.

BBB said Muhammad conducted a series of kidnapping and murder operations when he took over leadership of Ansaru and appointed the second defendant (Abbas) to head the operations.

The witness said: “He (Mahmud Mohammed) led the attack against the Emir of Potiskum. In one of the operations carried out by him, 17 military officers and three civilians were also killed. He was arrested in 2025.

The witness noted that: “It is part of their ideology that once one of their leaders is arrested, everything is done to secure his release. When Abu Bara’a (Muhammad) became the leader of ANSARU, he appointed the second defendant to head the operations.

“When the first defendant was arrested, the second defendant identified the high-profile steps that needed to be taken to secure his release.

“On November 4, 2025, they attacked the convoy of a member of the House of Representatives,

Jafaru Mohammed Ali, representing Agwara/Borgu; killed four soldiers and wounded four DSS members.

“The aim of the attack was to kidnap him and negotiate the release of the leaders, including the first and second defendants. Their plan was to kidnap him, publicly humiliate him and ask the FG to release the first and second defendants who were in custody.

“They also planned to attack the Wawa military base in New Busa, Niger State, because they thought their members were being held there.

“When the Wawa attack failed, A.saru members strategically moved to the Southwest, where they believed there was media to help amplify their demands to get the FG to agree to the release of the first and second defendants and their other state-detained members.”

The witness, who said he was aware of Oriire’s attacks, added that he was among those who investigated the case.

BBB further stated: “The attacks were carried out by members of the ANSARU group. When they carried out the attack, they moved the victims to a safe place in a forest near Old Oyo National Park.

“They made a demand and presented the government with a list of 30 members, including their leaders, warning that if their demands were not met, they would kill the victims.

“They were very hostile. Security agencies subsequently launched an offensive against the forest. They shot security agents, massacred one of the victims and threatened to kill others if there were efforts to rescue the victims.”

The witness also said that after terrorists killed two of the victims of the Oriire attacks, security agents saw the need to launch a rescue operation, knowing that Ansaru members had a history of recklessly killing innocent souls.

He said one of the strategies adopted was to arrest the second defendant’s wife and her family members of the perpetrators of the Oriire attacks.

BBB said: “The security men took the wife of the second accused, including other family members of the commanders, who were active then. They were warned that if they killed any victims, their family members would also be killed. This is what led to the suspension of killing of victims until the rescue operation. Two victims were killed in the Oriire attack.”

Describing how he knew the third, fourth and fifth defendants, the witness said: “They are members of the ANSARU group who were in communication with some of the commanders, particularly one of the commanders, who was holding the Oriire victims.”

He alleged that members of the Ansaru group carried out the Oriire attacks in furtherance of an ideology implemented by the leaders – the first and second defendants – that, in the event of the arrest of their top leaders, members should engage in a series of operations (attacks) to force the FG to release the arrested leaders.

BBB said those behind the Oriire attacks had indeed pressured the government to release their leaders, but that the FG had refused to negotiate with them.

He added: “They (the terrorists) submitted a list, including the names of the first and second accused, which they wanted the government to release otherwise they would kill all the victims.

“Security agencies managed to secure the release of the victims. But unfortunately we lost security personnel, including a senior police officer and an army officer. Two of the victims were killed before the rescue operation,” the witness said.

A further hearing will resume at 9am on Tuesday before Judge Salim Ibrahim.