A Federal High Court in Abuja heard, on Monday, that members of the proscribed terrorist group, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), planned the May 15 kidnappings of pupils, students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to pressure the Federal Government into releasing their detained leaders.
A Department of State Services operative, identified as BBB, told the court that the group received support from international terrorist organisation, Al-Qaeda, for the operation.
Testifying as the second prosecution witness in the trial of five alleged Ansaru members, BBB said the terrorists submitted a list of 30 leaders and members they wanted released, threatening to kill their captives if the government failed to meet their demands.
The defendants are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, aka Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, aka Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, aka Abu Itisar.
They are facing trial over their alleged involvement in the attacks and kidnappings.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness said security agencies eventually launched a rescue operation after the government refused to negotiate with the terrorists.
BBB said he knew the defendants through his official duties, adding that the first defendant, Muhammad, was among the founding members of Boko Haram before leaving the group in 2012 to establish Ansaru.
According to the witness, Muhammad, whose father is from Okene, Kogi State, and mother from Borno State, had served as Boko Haram’s head of security and intelligence before breaking away to pursue Ansaru’s ideology of establishing Islamic governance in Nigeria and attacking foreign nationals.
He said the group’s members believed that foreign nationals were killing Muslims abroad and consequently targeted and kidnapped foreigners.
The witness recalled that the killing of seven foreign nationals by Ansaru members in 2014 led the United States to designate the group as a terrorist organisation and declare Muhammad a globally wanted terrorist.
BBB further testified that Muhammad later assumed Ansaru’s leadership and appointed the second defendant, Abbas, as head of operations.
He said Muhammad was arrested in 2025 and that the group subsequently planned several attacks to force the government to secure his release.
“It is part of their ideology that once any of their leaders is arrested, they will do anything to ensure his release. When Abu Bara’a (Muhammad) became the leader of Ansaru, he made the second defendant the head of operations,” the witness said.
He told the court that on November 4, 2025, Ansaru members attacked the convoy of a member of the House of Representatives, Jafaru Mohammed Ali, who represents Agwara/Borgu Federal Constituency, killing four military personnel and injuring four DSS operatives.
According to BBB, the group intended to kidnap the lawmaker and use him to negotiate the release of Muhammad, Abbas and other detained members.
He added that the terrorists also planned to attack the Wawa military base in New Bussa, Niger State, believing their detained members were being held there.
After the planned attack on the military base failed, the witness said, Ansaru members relocated to the South-West, believing that the presence of media organisations in the region would help publicise their demands and pressure the government.
Turning to the Oriire attacks, BBB said the abducted victims were taken to a secured location in a forest near the Old Oyo National Park.
He said the terrorists subsequently demanded the release of 30 of their members, warning that the captives would be killed if the government refused.
“The attacks were carried out by members of the Ansaru group. When they carried out the attack, they moved the victims to a secured location in a forest close to 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 said.
The witness said the terrorists were hostile towards security operatives who attempted to rescue the victims, adding that one captive was slaughtered during the confrontation.
He said security agencies eventually resorted to arresting the wife of the second defendant and other family members of the group’s commanders as a strategy to prevent further killings.
“Security men took the wife of the second defendant, 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,” BBB told the court.
He said the intervention halted further killings until security operatives launched the rescue operation. The witness confirmed that two victims were killed before the rescue, adding that security personnel, including a senior police officer and an Army officer, also lost their lives during the operation.
BBB further alleged that the third, fourth and fifth defendants were members of Ansaru who communicated with some of the group’s commanders, including a commander holding the Oriire captives.
He said the kidnappings were part of a broader strategy allegedly established by the group’s leadership to carry out attacks whenever senior members were arrested, with the aim of forcing the Federal Government to release them.
The witness said the government refused to negotiate despite the threats, while security agencies eventually secured the release of the surviving victims.
Further hearing in the case continues on Tuesday at 9am before Justice Salim Ibrahim.