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The Federal Government has filed a 10-count charge against three men over the kidnap of pupils and teachers from a school in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The defendants, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Adamu Sani, are accused of terrorism, kidnapping, concealment, incitement and illegal mining.
The charges were filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.
Umar is also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid, Musa as Yunusa bin Musa, and Sani as Abu Itisar.
All three are from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
The first count accused the trio of conspiring with Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, sometime between January and May, to kidnap the schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, an offence the prosecution said contravened Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Counts two and three accused them of actively aiding the same three men in carrying out the kidnapping, contrary to Section 26(2) of the Act.
Counts four and five bordered on concealment. The defendants were accused of knowing the identities of Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab as the masterminds of the kidnapping, and of being aware of the abduction itself, yet failing in both instances to report the information to security operatives to enable their arrest.
Both counts cited Section 16(1) of the Terrorism Act.
The sixth count accused all three of professing membership of Darul Salam, described in the charge sheet as an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan, or Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.
The alleged offence was said to have occurred on or about June 2 and to contravene Section 25(1) of the Act.
Counts seven to nine were levelled solely against Umar, who was said to be resident of Sandako, Suleja.
He was accused of providing training and instruction to terrorists through a WhatsApp group titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace” in July, an offence said to contravene Sections 15 and 2(2)(g) of the Terrorism Act.
He was further accused of using preachings on the same platform to incite members to commit acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 18 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.
The 10th count, also against Umar alone, accused him of engaging in illegal gold mining at streams in the Chaza area of Suleja between 2024 and 2026, without lawful authority, contrary to Section 8(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
The charges relate to the mass abduction that shook Oyo State on May 15 when gunmen stormed Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire. Earlier official accounts put the number of victims at 46, made up of 39 pupils and seven teachers.
Two people lost their lives in connection with the attack. The assistant headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was killed while trying to escape during the raid, while a Mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by his captors during the 56 days that followed.
The victims regained their freedom on July 10 after an intelligence-led military operation targeted the kidnappers’ hideouts in the Old Oyo National Park.
The Nigerian Army said 44 pupils and teachers were freed and eight suspected gang members arrested, while the Presidency insisted no ransom was paid and no concessions were made to the kidnappers, who had reportedly demanded N1 billion and the release of a detained commander.
