A victim 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 how the victims endured 56 days in captivity, surviving on limited food and dirty water while being moved through different camps.
The witness, identified in court as “AAA” to protect her identity, gave evidence on Thursday during the trial of five men accused by the Department of State Services of involvement with Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, popularly known as Ansaru.
She told Justice Salim Ibrahim that the victims were moved through six locations in the bush, often barefoot and sleeping on grass while exposed to heavy rain and intense sunlight.
According to the witness, the ordeal began when armed men invaded three schools in Oriire during school hours, shooting sporadically and preventing pupils and teachers from escaping.
She said the abductors used about 12 motorcycles to move the victims into the bush, with each motorcycle reportedly carrying several people. A Toyota car belonging to one of the teachers was also used to transport some of the captives.
The witness said the abductors later told them that the victims were being held to pressure the government to release detained members of their group.
She further testified that the abductors seized the victims’ phones and used them to contact relatives and government officials while negotiations continued.
The conditions in captivity, she said, were severe.
According to the witness, water was so scarce that about four victims sometimes had to share one cup. She said the water supplied by the abductors was dirty, but the captives drank it because they had no alternative.
Food was also severely restricted. She said the victims initially ate rice mixed with salt and palm oil, but after the salt was exhausted, they continued with rice and palm oil until those supplies also ran out.
“They later gave us only white rice,” the witness told the court.
She said children among the captives were particularly vulnerable and were sometimes flogged when they struggled for food.
The witness also described the unhygienic conditions in the camps, saying the captives were served food from a dirty rubber bucket and could neither bathe nor wash their clothes throughout the 56-day ordeal.
She told the court that two teachers, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were killed in captivity after their abductors accused the government of failing to respond to their demands.
The ordeal ended at the sixth camp when security forces engaged the abductors in a gun battle and rescued the captives.
The Nigerian Army had earlier said the victims were rescued on July 10 after an intelligence-led operation involving the military, DSS, police and other security agencies.
The five defendants — 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 — pleaded not guilty to the amended seven-count charge.
The prosecution alleges that Muhammad and Abbas ordered members of the group to kidnap and kill Nigerians in an attempt to compel the government to release detained Ansaru members.
The charges include terrorism, kidnapping, conspiracy, aiding terrorism, concealment of information about an impending terrorist act and the killing of two victims.
The defendants have denied the allegations.
The prosecution also sought protection for its witnesses, a request granted by Justice Ibrahim.
The judge ordered that the defendants remain in DSS custody during the trial.
The case is expected to continue on September 18, when the defence is scheduled to cross-examine the witness.
