Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
THE Department of State Services (DSS) has re-arraigned five men accused of involvement in the May 15, 2026, abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Council of Oyo State.
The defendants, who were also accused of complicity in the killing of two of the victims, were re-arraigned on a seven-count amended charge filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The accused were alleged to be members of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU), a proscribed terrorist organisation.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges read to them.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), who led the DSS legal team, applied for the immediate trial of the defendants in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also asked the court to shield the identities of witnesses scheduled to testify and allow them to wear masks during proceedings in order to protect them.
The defence counsel, Bala Dakum, did not object to the applications.
Justice Salim Ibrahim subsequently granted the DSS counsel’s requests.
According to the amended charge, Mahmud Muhammad and Abubakar Abbas allegedly ordered the other three defendants, described as their “foot soldiers,” to kidnap and kill Nigerians in different parts of the country in the event of their arrest.
The prosecution alleged that the order led to the abduction of about 46 pupils and teachers from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in Oriire Local Council.
The defendants were also accused of causing the deaths of Oyedokun and Olaleye, with the charge alleging that Olaleye was decapitated.
In another count, the prosecution accused the defendants of failing to disclose information about an imminent act of terrorism and the planned kidnapping to law enforcement or security agencies.
Meanwhile, a witness for the DSS narrated to the court how the kidnapped students and teachers were subjected to dehumanising conditions for 56 days by their abductors.
The witness, identified as “AAA” for the protection of her identity, told Justice Ibrahim that they were moved to six different locations barefoot and sleeping on grass under heavy rains and sunshine before security agents finally rescued them from captivity.
The DSS witness, led in evidence by Oyedepo, told the court that their ordeal was particularly pathetic because children as young as one and a half years from pre-nursery schools were among those held in captivity throughout the period.
The witness claimed that on the day of the kidnapping, a group of bandits armed to the teeth invaded their schools on 12 motorcycles, shooting sporadically and preventing the students and teachers from escaping.
She said the bandits “carted” them away into the bush with one motorcycle carrying about four persons, adding that a Toyota car belonging to one of the teachers was also used to move other victims into the bush.
The witness said that while in the bush, they were addressed by the bandits’ leader, who told them that the kidnapped people were being held to negotiate for the release of their Ansaru group members and not for the purpose of ransom.
She said two teachers among them, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were brought out and openly beheaded on the excuse that the government was not serious in yielding to their demands for the release of their detained members.
She also told the court that their phones were seized and that they were used to contact their relatives and government officials to relay their grievances to the government, among others.
However, the judge ordered that the defendants remain in the custody of the DSS throughout their trial.
