A survivor of the May 15, 2026 abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how the victims spent 56 days in captivity battling hunger, thirst, exposure and brutal treatment.
The witness, identified only as “AAA” to protect her identity, said the victims were moved through six different locations in the bush, often barefoot, sleeping on grass and exposed to heavy rain and the scorching sun.
She said some of the victims were children as young as one-and-a-half years, who endured the same conditions as the adults throughout their captivity.
The witness gave the account while testifying against five men accused by the Department of State Services of belonging to the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, also known as Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
The defendants are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, also known as Isah Adam or 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.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness said the abductors stormed the schools on 12 motorcycles, shooting sporadically and preventing the pupils and teachers from escaping.
According to her, the victims were then “carted” into the bush, with one motorcycle carrying about four persons, while a Toyota car belonging to one of the teachers was also used to transport some of them.
She said the abductors later informed them that they were not being held for ransom but to pressure the government to release detained members of the Ansaru group.
The witness said the ordeal took a deadly turn when two teachers, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were brought out and beheaded.
She said the kidnappers carried out the killings after accusing the government of failing to take their demands seriously.
“They said the government was not serious about releasing their members,” the witness told the court.
She further said the abductors seized their phones and used them to contact relatives and government officials as part of efforts to press their demands.
But while negotiations continued, the captives were left struggling for necessities.
The witness said water was so scarce that about four victims were sometimes given only one cup of water to share.
She added that their food was initially rice mixed with salt and palm oil, but after the salt was exhausted, they ate rice with palm oil until that too ran out.
“They later gave us only white rice,” she said.
The witness said the little children were particularly vulnerable, claiming that the kidnappers flogged them whenever they struggled for food.
She added that food was served to them in “a dirty rubber bucket like chicken.”
Describing their living conditions, the witness said none of the victims was able to bathe or wash their clothes throughout the 56 days.
She said the captives became extremely dirty and were exposed to various dangers before the security forces eventually located them.
The witness said the water provided by the abductors was so dirty that the victims had to close their eyes before drinking it.
“We had to drink the dirty water just to survive,” she said.
According to her, the ordeal finally ended at the sixth camp when security forces engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle and rescued the victims.
The witness’ testimony is contained in the prosecution of the five defendants on seven counts bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, conspiracy, aiding terrorism, concealment of information about an impending terrorist act and the killing of the two teachers.
The prosecution alleged that Mahmud Muhammad and Abubakar Abbas ordered other members of the group to kidnap and kill Nigerians in different parts of the country to compel the government to release detained Ansaru members.
It also alleged that the defendants caused the deaths of Olaleye and Oyedokun and conspired to kidnap about 46 pupils and teachers from three schools in Oriire.
The defendants have, however, denied the allegations.
They were re-arraigned on Thursday by the Department of State Services.
The prosecution alleged in count one that Muhammad and Abbas ordered the other three defendants, described as their “foot soldiers” in Ansaru, “to kidnap and kill innocent Nigerians (Victims) in different parts of Nigeria in the event of your arrest by the Nigerian government, to compel the government to accede to your demands.”
The alleged order, according to the charge, led to the abduction of about 46 pupils and teachers from the Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery/Primary School and L.A. Primary School in Oriire.
Count Two read, “That you… sometime between 2025 and 2026 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, committed an act of terrorism when you caused the death of Deacon John Olaleye by decapitating him. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2 (3) (g) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 24(2) of the same Act.”
The defendants were also accused of failing to disclose information about an imminent terrorist act and the planned abduction of the victims to law enforcement or security agencies.
In count five, the Federal Government alleged that the defendants conspired with three other suspects, Muhammed Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, and others still at large to abduct about 46 persons, including schoolchildren and teachers, in Oriire.
Three of the defendants, Umar, Musa and Sani, were separately accused of aiding the alleged abduction, while Muhammad and Abbas were accused in count seven of knowingly concealing information about the planned terrorist attack that allegedly resulted in the May 15, 2026 abduction and deaths of Oyedokun and Olaleye.
The offences were said to be contrary to various provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the seven counts after they were read to them by the registrar of the court.
Oyedepo, who led the DSS legal team, subsequently applied for the immediate commencement of trial in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Oyedepo also asked the court to protect the identities of prosecution witnesses and allow them to testify while wearing masks, citing the need for their protection.
Counsel for the defendants, Bala Dakum, did not oppose the application.
Justice Salim Ibrahim subsequently granted the prosecution’s request.
He thereafter ordered that the defendants remain in DSS custody throughout the trial.
The defence counsel, Bala Dakum, is expected to cross-examine the witness on September 18, when the case will continue for hearing.
