OYO ABDUCTION TRIAL: SURVIVOR RECOUNTS 56 DAYS OF CAPTIVITY, SCARCITY AND HARSH CONDITIONS

SURVIVOR RECOUNTS 56 DAYS OF CAPTIVITY, SCARCITY AND HARSH CONDITIONS

A survivor of the May 15, 2026 abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the victims spent 56 days in captivity under severe conditions, including food and water shortages and exposure to harsh weather.

The witness, identified in court only as “AAA” to protect her identity, gave the account on Thursday while testifying in the trial of five men accused by the Department of State Services of involvement with Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, also known as Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation.

According to the witness, the captives were moved between six different locations in the bush during their period in captivity. She said they were frequently barefoot, slept on grass and were exposed to heavy rainfall and intense heat.

She also told the court that some of the abducted children were as young as one-and-a-half years old and remained in the same difficult conditions as the adult captives.

The five 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.

They all pleaded not guilty to seven charges after the counts were read to them in court.

While being led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness alleged that the attackers arrived at the schools on 12 motorcycles and fired shots while preventing the pupils and teachers from escaping.

She said the victims were subsequently taken into the bush, with about four people reportedly placed on each motorcycle. A Toyota vehicle belonging to one of the teachers was also allegedly used to transport some of the victims.

The witness further told the court that the abductors informed the captives that the operation was not primarily aimed at collecting ransom. Instead, she said, they claimed they wanted the government to release detained members of their group.

The testimony also included allegations concerning the deaths of two teachers, identified as Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun.

According to the witness, the two teachers were killed after the abductors accused the government of failing to respond to their demands.

“They said the government was not serious about releasing their members,” she told the court.

The witness further alleged that the abductors collected the victims’ mobile phones and used them to contact relatives and government officials during efforts to press their demands.

She said the prolonged captivity left the victims struggling to obtain basic necessities, particularly food and drinking water.

According to her testimony, water was at times so limited that about four victims had to share one cup.

She also said the captives were initially given rice mixed with salt and palm oil. After the available salt was exhausted, she said they continued eating rice with palm oil until the supply also ran out.

“They later gave us only white rice,” the witness said.

The witness alleged that younger children were particularly vulnerable during the period, claiming that some were flogged when they struggled while food was being distributed.

She further described the manner in which the food was served, saying it was provided in a container she likened to a dirty rubber bucket used for feeding poultry.

The conditions in the camps were also described as unhygienic. The witness said the captives were unable to bathe or wash their clothes throughout the 56 days in captivity.

She told the court that the victims became increasingly dirty and were exposed to several risks before security forces eventually located them.

On the quality of the drinking water, the witness said it was extremely dirty and that the captives sometimes had to close their eyes before drinking it.

“We had to drink the dirty water just to survive,” she said.

According to her account, the captivity ended at the sixth camp when security forces engaged the alleged abductors in a gun battle and subsequently rescued the victims.

The testimony forms part of the prosecution's case against the five defendants, who are facing seven counts bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, conspiracy, alleged support for terrorism, concealment of information relating to an impending terrorist act and the alleged killing of the two teachers.

The prosecution alleges that Mahmud Muhammad and Abubakar Abbas directed other members of the group to abduct and kill Nigerians in different parts of the country in an effort to compel the government to release detained members of Ansaru.

The prosecution also alleges 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 denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Justice Salim Ibrahim ordered that the defendants remain in the custody of the Department of State Services for the duration of the trial.

The defence counsel, Bala Dakum, is expected to cross-examine the witness when proceedings continue on September 18, 2026.