A survivor of the May 15, 2026 abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has recounted how the victims endured 56 days in captivity, battling hunger, thirst, harsh weather conditions and physical abuse.
The witness, whose identity was withheld and referred to as “AAA” by the Federal High Court in Abuja, gave the account on Thursday while testifying in the terrorism trial of five men accused of belonging to 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.
Testifying under the protection of anonymity, the witness told the court that the victims were moved between six different locations in the bush during their captivity.
She said they were frequently forced to move barefoot and slept on grass while being exposed to heavy rainfall and intense sunlight.
According to her, children as young as one-and-a-half years were among those abducted and were subjected to the same harsh conditions as the adults.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness said the kidnappers arrived at the schools on 12 motorcycles and fired shots to prevent the pupils and teachers from escaping.
She said the victims were subsequently “carted” into the bush, with about four people carried on each motorcycle, while a Toyota car belonging to one of the teachers was also used to convey some of the abductees.
The witness said the kidnappers later told them that the abduction was not motivated by a demand for ransom but was intended to pressure the Federal Government into releasing detained members of Ansaru.
She further told the court that the situation became fatal when two teachers, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were taken away and beheaded.
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According to her, the kidnappers carried out the killings after accusing the government of failing to respond seriously to their demands.
“They said the government was not serious about releasing their members,” the witness told the court.
She said the abductors also confiscated the victims’ mobile phones and used them to communicate with relatives and government officials during the negotiations.
Despite the ongoing discussions, the witness said the captives were left without adequate food and water.
She told the court that water was severely rationed, with about four victims sometimes forced to share a single cup.
The witness said the victims initially ate rice mixed with salt and palm oil. After the salt was exhausted, they continued with rice and palm oil until the latter also ran out.
“They later gave us only white rice,” she said.
She said the younger children suffered particularly during feeding times, alleging that the kidnappers flogged them when they struggled over food.
The witness also described the manner in which meals were served, saying the food was put in “a dirty rubber bucket like chicken.”
She further said the victims could neither bathe nor wash their clothes throughout their 56 days in captivity.
According to her, the captives became extremely dirty and faced several other dangers while being moved from one camp to another.
She said the water supplied by the abductors was heavily contaminated, forcing the victims to shut their eyes before drinking it.
“We had to drink the dirty water just to survive,” she said.
The witness said the ordeal eventually ended at the sixth camp when security forces engaged the abductors in a gun battle and rescued the victims.
Her testimony formed part of the prosecution’s case against the five defendants, who are facing 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 Federal Government alleged that Muhammad and Abbas directed other members of the group to abduct and kill Nigerians in different parts of the country as a means of forcing the government to release detained Ansaru members.
The prosecution also alleged that the defendants were responsible for the deaths of Olaleye and Oyedokun and conspired to abduct about 46 pupils and teachers from three schools in Oriire.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
They were re-arraigned on Thursday by the Department of State Services.
In the first count, the prosecution alleged 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 prosecution said the alleged directive resulted in the abduction of about 46 pupils and teachers from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery/Primary School and L.A. Primary School in Oriire.
Count Two stated, “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 withholding information about an alleged impending terrorist act and the planned abduction from law enforcement and security agencies.
In count five, the Federal Government alleged that the defendants conspired with three other suspects, Muhammed Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, as well as others still at large, to abduct about 46 people, including schoolchildren and teachers, in Oriire.
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 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.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the seven counts after the charges were read to them by the court registrar.
Oyedepo, who led the DSS legal team, then applied for the immediate commencement of the trial in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also asked the court to protect the identities of prosecution witnesses by allowing them to testify while wearing masks, citing security concerns.
Defence counsel Bala Dakum did not oppose the application.
Justice Salim Ibrahim subsequently granted the prosecution’s request and ordered that the defendants remain in DSS custody throughout the trial.
Dakum is expected to cross-examine the witness on September 18 when the case resumes for further hearing.