The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted as exhibit the recorded video showing the beheading of an abducted teacher of Community School, Oriire, in Oyo State, Deacon John Olaleye.
Justice Ibrahim Salim admitted the video as ‘Exhibit Oyo1’ after it was played in the open courtroom, showing the scene of the horrific incident and the message of the alleged terrorists on why the teacher’s killing was carried out.
Also admitted as ‘Exhibit Oyo2’ was a list of demands allegedly served on the Federal Government through Oyo State government by the terror group containing names of its 30 members being held in various detention facilities across the country.
In the video, the terrorists claimed that they resorted to killing the teacher because the Federal Government was foot dragging on the demand for their members’ release before the abducted students and teachers of Oriire schools could be released in return.
The video was said to have been posted by the alleged terrorists while holding on to their victims in anticipation for the swapping process.
In the message that accompanied the video, the terrorists threatened to waste the captives in their forest camp, including infants, little pupils and women.
The video was played in the course of the trial of five members the Ansaru terrorist group by the Department of State Services, DSS.
The five members 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).
In the video, the name of the second accused person, Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri) featured among those demanded to be released.
The video was tendered by the DSS lawyer and Director of the Public Prosecution of the Federation, DPPF, Oyedepo Rotimi, SAN, through a witness codenamed ‘BBB’.
BBB, a DSS operative, while being led in evidence by Rotimi, claimed to be part of the team that investigated the Oriire abduction and that the body of the beheaded teacher was cut into pieces by the terrorists to stop the troops from advancing towards them.
He said that the 1st and 2nd accused persons, Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar) and Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri) were notorious terrorists on the wanted list of the United States and United Kingdom because of series of deadly attacks carried out in the past.
The witness also told the court that the demand for the release of Abubakar Abbas was specifically pursued because he was a commander in the Ansaru terror group that was responsible for the killing of military officers in Nigeria.
Under cross examination by counsel to the accused persons, Bala Dakum, the witness said that phones of the captives were used to engage government officials during negotiations.
He said that Abubakar Abbas, one of the five men linked to the Oriire school kidnapping, was a bargaining chip by Ansaru terrorists during negotiations for the release of a woman and her infant in captivity, adding that the terrorist group threatened to kill all the captives if their demands were not met.
According to him, the school teacher, Deacon John Olaleye, was killed and decapitated after the terrorists accused government negotiators of failing to release Abubakar Abbas, who is the second defendant in the ongoing trial.
Justice Ibrahim Salim has fixed November 19 and 20 for continuation of trial of the accused persons.
