A prosecution witness has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that international terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda supported members of the proscribed Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) in carrying out the May 15 attacks on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The witness, identified as BBB, told the court on Monday that the attacks were part of a strategy to pressure the Federal Government into releasing detained leaders and members of the terrorist group.
Testifying as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of five men accused of involvement in the attacks, BBB said the kidnappers submitted a list of 30 Ansaru members, including their leaders, whom they demanded the government release in exchange for the safety of the abducted students and teachers.
According to the witness, the terrorists threatened to kill the hostages if their demands were not met.
The defendants are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, alias Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, alias Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.
The prosecution said 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 Prosecution of the Federation, Oyedepo Rotimi (SAN), the witness said security agencies eventually launched a rescue operation after the Federal Government refused to negotiate with the terrorists or accede to their demands.
BBB told the court that he knew the first defendant, Muhammad, through his official duties and identified him as one of the founding members of Boko Haram.
The witness said Muhammad had previously served as the group’s head of security and intelligence before leaving in 2012 to establish Ansaru with other members.
According to BBB, the breakaway faction sought to advance an ideology centred on establishing Islamic governance in Nigeria and targeting foreign nationals.
He said members of the group believed foreign nationals were responsible for killing Muslims in other countries, a belief they allegedly used to justify kidnapping and killing foreigners.
The witness further recalled that Ansaru members killed seven foreign nationals in 2014, an incident he said led the United States to designate the group as a terrorist organisation and declare Muhammad a globally wanted terrorist.
BBB alleged that Muhammad subsequently assumed Ansaru’s leadership and directed a series of kidnapping and killing operations, appointing the second defendant, Abbas, as head of operations.
The witness also linked Muhammad to an attack on the Emir of Potiskum, as well as another operation in which 17 military personnel and three civilians were allegedly killed.
He told the court that Muhammad was arrested in 2025 and that the group had an established strategy of carrying out attacks whenever one of its senior leaders was apprehended.
According to BBB, following Muhammad’s arrest, Abbas identified high-profile targets for attacks aimed at forcing the government to secure the release of the detained leaders.
The witness further alleged that Ansaru members attacked the convoy of Jafaru Mohammed Ali, a member of the House of Representatives representing Agwara/Borgu, on November 4, 2025.
He said the attack left four military personnel dead and four Department of State Services (DSS) personnel injured.
According to BBB, the operation was intended to abduct the lawmaker, subject him to public humiliation and use him as leverage to demand the release of Muhammad, Abbas and other detained members of the group.
The witness added that Ansaru members also planned to attack the Wawa Military Base in New Bussa, Niger State, because they believed some of their detained members were being held there.
However, after the alleged attempt to attack the military base failed, the group relocated its operations to the South-West, where it believed media coverage would help amplify its demands and increase pressure on the Federal Government.
BBB said the relocation was part of a broader strategy to compel the government to release the group’s detained leaders and other members.
The witness, who said he participated in the investigation into the Oriire attacks, alleged that Ansaru members abducted students and teachers before taking them to a secured location in a forest near the Old Oyo National Park.
He told the court that the kidnappers subsequently submitted their list of 30 members and warned that the hostages would be killed if the government failed to meet their demands.
According to BBB, the terrorists were hostile towards security operatives and opened fire when security agencies launched an offensive in the forest.
He further alleged that the kidnappers killed one of the hostages during the confrontation and threatened to execute the remaining captives if security forces continued their rescue efforts.
The witness said the killing of two victims before the rescue operation heightened concerns among security agencies, particularly because of the group’s alleged history of killing innocent people.
He explained that the decision to move against the kidnappers was informed by the government’s refusal to negotiate and the growing risk to the lives of the remaining hostages.
BBB told the court that security operatives eventually rescued the surviving victims, although the operation came at a cost.
He said a senior police officer and an Army officer were among the security personnel killed, while two of the abducted victims had been murdered before the rescue operation.
The witness also explained how he came to know the third, fourth and fifth defendants, alleging that they were members of Ansaru who communicated with some of the group’s commanders.
He specifically linked them to communications involving a commander who was holding the victims abducted during the Oriire attacks.
According to BBB, the school kidnappings were carried out in furtherance of a strategy allegedly established by Muhammad and Abbas, under which members were expected to launch attacks and other operations whenever senior leaders were arrested.
He said the strategy was intended to force the Federal Government to release detained members by creating security crises and putting the lives of innocent people at risk.
The witness maintained that the kidnappers submitted the list of 30 detainees, including the first and second defendants, as part of their demands for the release of the hostages.
He added that the government refused to yield to the demands, prompting security agencies to undertake the operation that secured the release of the surviving victims.
Further hearing in the case is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. on Tuesday before Justice Salim Ibrahim.
