A prosecution witness in the trial of five alleged members of the Ansaru terrorist group has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that other captives recovered the bodies of two teachers killed during their abduction in Oyo State.
The protected witness, identified by the codename “AAA,” gave the clarification on Friday while being cross-examined before Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim.
She was among the 46 pupils and teachers allegedly abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15.
The witness confirmed the slain teachers as Michael Oyedokun and Deacon John Olaleye but explained that she was not present when they were allegedly killed.
According to her, Oyedokun was killed at a location identified as Camp A, while Olaleye was killed at another camp.
She added that she could not identify the individuals who carried out the killings because she did not witness the incidents personally.
The defendants standing trial are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, also known as Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.
They are accused of belonging to Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, popularly known as Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
The defendants pleaded not guilty on Thursday after they were re-arraigned on an amended seven-count terrorism charge.
Following their pleas, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, called “AAA” as the prosecution’s first witness.
During her initial testimony, the witness narrated how the abductees were allegedly tortured and subjected to degrading conditions during their 56 days in captivity.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Bala Dakum on Friday, she said their abductors provided food whenever they chose, without considering the special needs of the younger children among the captives.
She further alleged that the abductors used the victims’ mobile phones to communicate with government officials during the period of captivity.
Dakum asked the witness whether the experience she described amounted only to “natural hardship,” but she disagreed with the defence counsel’s suggestion.
Dakum asked the witness whether the experience she described amounted only to “natural hardship,” but she disagreed with the defence counsel’s suggestion.
The witness also admitted that she had seen three of the defendants before the commencement of the trial.
She explained that the victims only learnt the identities of the first and second defendants while being questioned by operatives of the State Security Service.
According to her, she was interrogated by SSS operatives at the agency’s office and while receiving treatment in a hospital following the rescue of the victims.
After the defence concluded its cross-examination, Justice Ibrahim discharged the witness from the witness box.
The court subsequently adjourned the trial until October 12 and 13, 2026, for the prosecution to call additional witnesses.