A witness of the Department of State Services (DSS), on Thursday, told a Federal High Court in Abuja, that members of the proscribed terrorist group, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), kidnaped students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, to compel the Federal Government to free detained leaders of the group.
The witness, BBB, also said that al-Qaeda, a worldwide terrorist organization, aided Ansaru in preparing the May 15 attack.
The organization gave the BBB a list of 30 leaders and members it wanted freed, threatening to kill the hostages if the government did not accept its demands. He was the second prosecution witness to testify Monday in the trial of five alleged Ansaru members.
The accused persons are: Mahmud Muhammad alias Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas alias Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar alias Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa alias Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani alias Abu Itisar.
The prosecution said the accused are from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State and Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
The witness, led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Oyedepo Rotimi (SAN), said the security operation that resulted to the rescue of the victims was guided by the government’s reluctance to negotiate with the terrorists.
BBB said he met the defendants in the course of his official duties, particularly Muhammad, whom he characterised as one of the founder members of Boko Haram and former head of its security and intelligence unit.
Muhammad, he told the court, left Boko Haram in 2012 with other members to form Ansaru, which he said was committed to promoting an ideology of Islamic government in Nigeria and assaulting foreign nationals.
Ansaru members felt foreigners were responsible for the deaths of Muslims overseas, the witness added, a belief that he said fuelled the group’s abductions and killings of foreigners.
He told the court that the group’s death of seven foreign nationals in 2014 led to it being designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Muhammad being listed as an internationally sought terrorist.
Muhammad eventually became the commander of Ansaru and appointed the second defendant, Abbas, to head activities, BBB said.
The witness said Muhammad was behind multiple kidnapping and murdering operations including an attack on the Emir of Potiskum and an operation in which 17 military soldiers and three civilians were slain.
He said Muhammad was detained in 2025 and the group’s response to the imprisonment of its leaders was to launch attacks aimed at forcing the government to release them.
“The second defendant mentioned high-profile operations to be carried out so that the first defendant would be released when he was arrested,” the witness told the court.
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