The driver of the bus conveying the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members kidnapped in Imo State on Independence Day has told a state High Court that the five suspects arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, were the same persons who attacked his bus and abducted the passengers.
A second prosecution witness, Mr. Light Timothy, also told the court that he saw two of the suspects wielding AK-47 rifles shortly after the abduction, which took place along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway on October 1, 2026.
Both witnesses testified at the resumed trial of the five suspected kidnappers on Friday at the High Court in Mgbidi, the Oru Judicial Division of the Imo State judiciary. In their evidence-in-chief and under cross-examination, they maintained that they saw the defendants commit the crimes of conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of arms.
The driver, the third prosecution witness, told the court that he could clearly identify the first defendant as the person who, on the day of the attack, first approached his bus clutching an AK-47 rifle. He said it was also the first defendant he saw marching the 20 prospective corps members into a nearby bush after they were taken hostage.
Identification evidence
Timothy told the court that, aside from sighting the first and second defendants shortly after the abduction, he also identified both men as those who attacked the bus at an identification parade conducted at the DSS state office.
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Under cross-examination, defence counsel demanded the identity card of the bus driver. The trial judge, Justice Emeka Orafu, confirmed that the colour photograph on the identity card presented by the driver looked very much like him.
Thereafter, the testimonies of both witnesses, alongside the driver’s identity card, were admitted in evidence.
The 20 prospective corps members were abducted at gunpoint on October 1 — Nigeria’s Independence Day — while travelling by bus from Ibadan to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. They were rescued by security agencies after seven days in captivity.
The DSS subsequently arrested five suspects and arraigned them before the Imo State High Court in Mgbidi on charges of conspiracy, hostage-taking — punishable under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009 — and unlawful possession of firearms. Prosecutors allege the defendants possessed three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
Three of the defendants — Usman Aliyu (25), also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu (21); and Mohammed Ali (23), also known as Smallie Pepper — are specifically charged with the kidnap of the corps members. Two others, Aminu Haliru (27) and Tange Ibrahim (20), also known as Jijji, face a separate charge over the abduction of four persons around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4, for which prosecutors allege an ₦8 million ransom was collected. The Service has said a total of 11 suspects were involved in the October 1 abduction, with others still at large.
At the court’s last sitting, Justice Orafu ordered an accelerated trial and directed that the defendants remain in DSS custody pending the conclusion of proceedings.
At the conclusion of Friday’s proceedings, the trial judge adjourned the trial of both sets of suspects to November 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2026, for continuation of hearing.
Crediblenewsng.com
