- Group’s video clip of beheaded teacher, deacon admitted as exhibit
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, heard that two leaders of the Ansaru terrorist organisation, Mahmud Muhammad aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar, and Abubakar Abbas aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri, being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS), are among the most wanted terrorists by the United States and the United Kingdom.
The court admitted as exhibits, the recorded video clip of the Ansarul terror group’s beheading a church deacon and another abducted teacher of a school in Oriire, Oyo state.
Abu Bara’a and Al-Nigeri, the court further heard, were wanted by the governments of the United States and United Kingdom for various acts of terror they commuted.
After the video clip was played in the open court room detailing the horrific scenes of the beheading of both victims of the terror group, Justice Ibrahim Salim admitted the clip as (“Exhibit Oyo 1).
The court also admitted as “exhibit Oyo 2,” a list of demands allegedly served on the federal government through the Oyo state government by the terror group. The list contained names of 30 members of the terror group being held in various detention facilities across the country.
In the video clip, the alleged terrorists claimed that they resorted to killing the teacher because the federal government’s delay on meeting their demands for the release of their arrested members.
The video clip was said to have been posted by the alleged terrorists while holding on to their victims ahead of their hope for a swapping deal.
In the accompanying message in the video, the alleged terrorists threatened to kill the captives in their forest camp. These captives included infants, pupils and women.
The video clip was played in the course of the trial of five members of the group on terrorism charges by the DSS.
The five members are Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar); Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri); Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid); Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar).
In the list of demands, the name of the second accused person, Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri featured among those for which demand was made to be released.
The video clip was tendered by a DSS lawyer and Director, Public Prosecution of the Federation DPPF, Oyedepo Rotimi, SAN, through a witness codenamed “BBB”.
The DSS operative, while being led in evidence by the DPPF, claimed to be part of the DSS team that investigated the Oriire abduction. He stated that the terrorists cut the body of the beheaded teacher into pieces to stop the security team from advancing on them.
The witness also told the Court that demand for the release of Abubakar Abbas was specifically pursued because he was a Commander in the Ansarul terror group that was responsible for the killing of military officers in Nigeria.
Under cross examination by counsel to the accused persons, Bala Dakum, the witness said that phones of the captives were used to engage government officials during negotiations.
He said Abubakar Abba, one of the five men linked to the Oriire school kidnapping, was a bargaining chip by Ansaru terrorists during negotiations for the release of a woman and her infant in captivity, adding that the terrorist group threatened to kill all the captives if their demands were not met.
According to him, the school teacher and Deacon John Olaleye, was killed and decapitated after the terrorists accused government negotiators of failing to release Abubakar Abba, the second defendant in the ongoing trial.
Meanwhile, Justice Ibrahim Salim has fixed November 19 and 20 for continuation of trial of the accused persons.
