AL-QAEDA BACKED ANSARU ATTACKS ON OYO SCHOOLS TO SECURE LEADERS’ RELEASE, COURT HEARS

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

A Federal High Court in Abuja heard on Monday that international terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda supported members of the proscribed terrorist group Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) in carrying out attacks on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15.

The court heard that the attacks were intended to pressure the Federal Government into releasing ANSARU leaders arrested and being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS).

A DSS operative, identified as BBB, told the court that following the abduction of students and teachers, the terrorists submitted a list containing 30 names of their leaders and members whom they demanded should be released, threatening to kill the hostages if the government failed to comply.

BBB testified as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of five men accused of involvement in the attacks.

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 hail 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 Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness said the security operation that led to the rescue of the abducted victims followed the Federal Government’s refusal to negotiate with the terrorists or accede to their demands.

BBB said he became familiar with the first defendant, Muhammad, through his official duties, describing him as one of the founding members of Boko Haram who once headed the group’s security and intelligence operations.

He told the court that Muhammad, whose father hails from Okene in Kogi State and mother from Borno State, was among those who left Boko Haram in 2012 to establish ANSARU.

According to the witness, the group sought to promote an ideology centred on establishing Islamic governance in Nigeria and attacking foreign nationals.

He said ANSARU members believed foreign nationals were killing Muslims abroad, a position the group used to justify its kidnapping and killing of foreigners.

BBB recalled that the group’s 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.

The witness further alleged that Muhammad led several kidnapping and killing operations after assuming ANSARU’s leadership and appointed the second defendant, Abbas, as head of operations.

“He (Mahmud Mohammed) led the attack on the Emir of Potiskum. Seventeen military officers and three civilians were also killed in one of the operations he carried out,” BBB told the court.

He said Muhammad was arrested in 2025 and that the group’s ideology required members to undertake operations to secure the release of detained leaders.

According to the witness, following Muhammad’s arrest, Abbas identified high-profile targets for attacks to pressure the government into releasing the detained leaders.

BBB said that on November 4, 2025, ANSARU members attacked the convoy of Jafaru Mohammed Ali, a member of the House of Representatives representing Agwara/Borgu, killing four military personnel and injuring four DSS operatives.

He said the attackers intended to abduct the lawmaker and use him as leverage to secure the release of Muhammad, Abbas and other detained members.

“Their plan was to kidnap him, humiliate him publicly, and demand that the FG release the first and second defendants who were in custody. They also planned to attack Wawa Military Base in New Busa, Niger State, because they thought their members were being kept there,” the witness said.

BBB added that after the planned attack on Wawa Military Base failed, ANSARU members relocated to the South-West, believing that media organisations in the region could help publicise their demands and increase pressure on the government.

The witness said he was part of the team that investigated the Oriire attacks and alleged that ANSARU members moved the abducted students and teachers to a secure location in a forest near the Old Oyo National Park.

He said the terrorists submitted a list of 30 members, including their leaders, to the government and threatened to kill the victims if their demands were not met.

According to him, the abductors resisted security efforts to rescue the victims, opened fire on security operatives and killed one hostage while threatening to execute others.

BBB said the killing of two victims eventually prompted security agencies to intensify preparations for a rescue operation, given the group’s alleged history of killing innocent people.

He told the court that one of the measures adopted by security operatives was the arrest of Abbas’s wife and relatives of other commanders involved in the attacks.

“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,” he said.

The witness alleged that the measure led to a halt in the killings until the rescue operation was conducted.

He reiterated that two victims were killed before the remaining hostages were rescued.

Explaining the alleged roles of the third, fourth and fifth defendants, BBB said they were ANSARU members who communicated with some of the group’s commanders, including a commander said to have been holding the Oriire hostages.

He maintained that the attacks were carried out in furtherance of an alleged strategy developed by ANSARU leaders to launch operations whenever senior members were arrested, with the aim of forcing the government to release them.

BBB said the government refused to negotiate despite the threats, adding that security agencies eventually rescued the victims.

However, he said the operation resulted in the deaths of security personnel, including a senior police officer and an Army officer, while two abducted victims had been killed before the rescue.

Further hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday at 9am before Justice Salim Ibrahim.