Five Plead Not Guilty to Charges Over Oyo School Kidnap
The Department of State Services (DSS) has re-arraigned five men accused of involvement in the May 15 abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the subsequent killing of two victims.
The defendants — Mahmud Muhammad, Abubakar Abbas, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Adamu Sani — were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a seven-count amended charge filed on behalf of the Federal Government. They are accused of being members of the proscribed Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU).
All five defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
According to the prosecution, the case involves the alleged abduction of about 46 pupils and teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area. The defendants are also accused of complicity in the deaths of two victims, identified in the charge as Oyedokun and Olaleye.
The prosecution further alleged that two of the defendants, Mahmud Muhammad and Abubakar Abbas, ordered the other accused persons to carry out kidnappings and killings, while three others were accused of aiding the alleged abduction.
The charges include allegations of terrorism, conspiracy to abduct the schoolchildren and teachers, aiding kidnapping and failure to disclose information about an imminent terrorist act. The defendants have not been convicted, and the allegations remain to be proven in court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the DSS legal team, asked the court for an immediate trial under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
He also requested that the identities of prosecution witnesses be protected and that they be allowed to testify while wearing masks because of security concerns.
Defence counsel Bala Dakum did not object to the applications.
Justice Salim Ibrahim subsequently granted the prosecution’s requests, allowing the trial to proceed with the specified witness-protection measures.
The May 15 attack targeted three schools in Oriire. The remaining abducted pupils and teachers were later released after 56 days in captivity following a joint security operation. Authorities said no ransom was paid for their release.
