The Federal Government has arraigned three suspected terrorists before the Federal High Court in Abuja over their alleged involvement in the abduction of dozens of schoolchildren and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The defendants — Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Adamu Sani — are facing a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of terrorist activities, incitement and illegal mining.
Court documents filed on Friday identified Umar by the aliases Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid, while Musa is also known as Yunusa bin Musa and Sani as Abu Itisar. All three defendants are natives of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
According to the charge sheet, the suspects allegedly conspired with three other individuals — Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab — between January and May 2026 to orchestrate the abduction of pupils and teachers from schools in Oyo State.
The prosecution said the alleged conspiracy contravenes Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The government further accused the trio of providing active support to the principal suspects in carrying out the mass kidnapping, an offence punishable under Section 26(2) of the same Act.
In separate counts, the defendants were also accused of concealing vital information from security agencies despite allegedly knowing both the identities of the masterminds and details of the planned abduction.
The prosecution alleged that their failure to report the information violated Section 16(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
Another charge accused all three men of belonging to Darul Salam, which the government described as an affiliate of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a terrorist organisation banned in Nigeria.
The alleged membership was said to have occurred on or about June 2 and constitutes an offence under Section 25(1) of the Terrorism Act.
Three additional counts were filed exclusively against Abdulrazak Umar.
The Federal Government alleged that Umar used a WhatsApp platform titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace” to recruit, train and provide ideological instruction to terrorist elements in July.
He was also accused of using sermons delivered through the same WhatsApp group to encourage and incite acts of terrorism, contrary to the provisions of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.
In the final count, Umar was accused of engaging in illegal gold mining activities between 2024 and 2026 at streams located in the Chaza area of Suleja, Niger State, without lawful authorisation, contrary to the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
The charges stem from the May 15 attack on Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, where heavily armed gunmen abducted scores of pupils and teachers.
Initial official reports indicated that 46 victims — comprising 39 pupils and seven teachers — were taken during the attack.
The incident also claimed two lives. The Assistant Headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was reportedly shot dead while attempting to escape, while a Mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was allegedly beheaded by the kidnappers during the victims’ 56-day captivity.
The abducted pupils and teachers eventually regained their freedom on July 10 following an intelligence-led military operation that targeted the kidnappers’ hideouts within the Old Oyo National Park.
The Nigerian Army subsequently announced that 44 victims had been rescued alive, while eight suspected members of the kidnapping syndicate were arrested during the operation.
The Presidency also maintained that no ransom was paid and no concessions were granted to the kidnappers, despite reports that the gang had demanded ₦1 billion and the release of one of its detained commanders as conditions for freeing the victims.
(Ripples)