FG Drags Kidnappers of Oriire Schoolchildren to Court

The Federal Government has filed criminal charges against three men over the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, accusing them of terrorism-related offences, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement and illegal mining.

The charges were filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja against Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid, Yunusa Musa, also known as Yunusa bin Musa, and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.

All three defendants are from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State and are facing a 10-count charge under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, and the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

According to the charge sheet, the suspects allegedly conspired with three other men identified as Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab between January and May 2026 to kidnap schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State.

The Federal Government alleged that the trio also assisted the alleged masterminds in carrying out the abduction and deliberately failed to report information about their identities and activities to security agencies despite knowing about the plot.

Part of the charge reads: “That you ABDULRAZAK UMAR (A.K.A ABU KHALIFA/ABU KHALID), YUNUSA MUSA (A.K.A YUNUSA BIN MUSA) and SHAMSU ADAMU SANI (A.K.A ABU ITISAR)… conspired with Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab to kidnap school children and teachers in Orire LGA, Oyo State.”

Another count accused the defendants of concealing information from security agencies despite allegedly knowing the identities of those behind the kidnapping. It stated that they “had information about Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab as terrorists who are masterminds of the kidnap of school children and teachers of Oriire LGA of Oyo State but failed to report same to the relevant security operatives.”

The prosecution also alleged that on June 2, 2026, the three defendants declared themselves members of Darul Salam, described in the charge sheet as an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan (Ansaru), a terrorist group that has been banned in Nigeria.

Abdulrazak Umar is facing additional charges separate from those against the other defendants. Prosecutors accused him of providing training and instructions to terrorists through a WhatsApp group titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace.”

The charge further alleged that Umar used the same WhatsApp platform to encourage members to commit acts of terrorism through his teachings, an offence said to violate the Cybercrime Act.

In the final count, Umar was accused of engaging in illegal gold mining between 2024 and 2026 at streams located in the Chaza area of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State without lawful authority.

A security source disclosed that investigations into the case have been concluded and the three suspects are expected to be arraigned before the Federal High Court next week.