The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced three men arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) over their alleged involvement in the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences.
Justice Salim Ibrahim handed down the sentence after Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (aka Yunusa Bin Musa) and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar) admitted guilt to two of the 10-count charges preferred against them by the Federal Government. The trio pleaded guilty to concealing information about the masterminds of the kidnapping and professing membership of Darul Salam, an affiliate of the proscribed terrorist group, Ansaru.
The convicts were accused of withholding information about suspected terrorists identified as Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, alleged masterminds of the Oriire school abduction, despite having prior knowledge of their activities. They were also found guilty of declaring membership of Darul Salam, an offence under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The Federal Government had earlier arraigned the suspects on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement and illegal mining. Prosecutors alleged that the defendants conspired with other terror suspects between January and May 2026 to abduct schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, while the first defendant, Abdulrazak Umar, was further accused of recruiting and training terrorists, using a WhatsApp platform to incite terrorism and engaging in illegal gold mining in Niger State. Security agencies said investigations into other suspects connected with the case are still ongoing.
