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Five suspected members of the Ansaru terrorist group have pleaded not guilty to seven amended charges over their alleged involvement in the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State.
The Department of State Services (DSS) re-arraigned the defendants before the High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
They are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a/Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, also known as Isah Adam/Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.
They are facing an amended seven-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2026.
The prosecution accused the defendants of several terrorism-related offences, including conspiracy to abduct about 46 people, aiding the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers, withholding information about a planned terrorist attack and causing the deaths of two people.
The victims named in the charge are Michael Oyedokun and Deacon John Olaleye.
According to the first count, Muhammad and Abbas allegedly directed Umar, Musa and Sani, whom the prosecution described as their “foot soldiers” in Ansaru, to abduct and kill Nigerians if the group’s members were arrested by the Nigerian Government.
The prosecution alleged that the directive was linked to the abduction of about 46 pupils and teachers from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery/Primary School and L.A. Primary School in Oriire.
In another count, the defendants were accused of causing the death of Olaleye by decapitating him sometime between 2025 and 2026 in Abuja.
The prosecution said the alleged offence contravened Section 2(3)(g) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and is punishable under Section 24(2) of the same law.
The defendants were also accused of withholding information about an imminent terrorist attack and the planned abduction of the victims from law enforcement and security agencies.
In count five, the Nigerian Government alleged that the five defendants conspired with Muhammed Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, alongside other suspects still at large, to abduct about 46 people, including pupils and teachers, in Oriire.
Umar, Musa and Sani were separately accused of assisting in the alleged abduction.
Muhammad and Abbas were also accused in count seven of knowingly concealing information about the planned attack which allegedly led to the May 15, 2026 abduction and deaths of Oyedokun and Olaleye.
The charges were brought under various provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
After the court read the seven counts, all five defendants pleaded not guilty.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the DSS legal team, then asked the court to commence the trial immediately under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Oyedepo also sought an order allowing prosecution witnesses to testify while wearing masks to conceal their identities, citing security concerns.
