DSS to re-arraign five alleged Ansaru terrorists over Oriire kidnap, killings Sept 17

The Department of State Services, DSS, volition connected Thursday, September 17 re-arraign 5 men accused of complicity successful the May 15 kidnap of pupils and teachers successful the Oriire Local Government of Oyo State and consequent sidesplitting of 2 of the victims.

They are to beryllium arraigned connected a 6-count amended complaint marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2026 just filed the DSS connected behalf of the national government. 

The accused persons identified arsenic members of the Jama’‘atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) violent radical 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).

Although, the suspects were to beryllium docked connected Wednesday, September 16, it was, however, aborted pursuing the insistence of the accused persons to beryllium defended by lawyers of their ain choice. 

At Wednesday’s aborted proceedings, Mr Akilaluyel Shettima, a Deputy Director with the Legal Aid Council had announced quality for the 5 of them but the archetypal accused person, Mahmud Muhammad objected. 

Speaking connected behalf of his colleagues, Muhammad told Justice Salim Ibrahim that they had been represented by 1 Bala Dakum arsenic their lawyer earlier and would privation him to proceed to support them. 

At this point, the DSS lawyer and Director of the Public...