The five men accused of the May 15 kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the killing of two of the victims were re-arraigned on Thursday by the Department of State Services, DSS.
They were put on trial on an amended seven-count charge, while all five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when read to them by the Registrar of the Court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, leading the DSS legal team, applied for the immediate trial of the defendants in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also applied for the names of witnesses lined up to testify in the trial to be shielded and for the witnesses to be permitted to wear masks to ensure their protection.
Following no objection from the lawyer to the defendants, Bala Dakum, Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the request of the DSS counsel.
The defendants, accused of being members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) terrorist group, 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).
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Editor: Ada Ononye
