A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday heard that the banned terrorist group Ansaru allegedly planned the May 15 attack on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State with support from Al-Qaeda.
A prosecution witness, identified only as BBB, told the court that the attack was aimed at forcing the Federal Government to release detained Ansaru leaders.
The witness testified as the second prosecution witness in the trial of five men accused of involvement in the attack.
He said the terrorists kidnapped students and teachers and later sent the Federal Government a list of 30 members they wanted released.
According to him, the group threatened to kill the victims if their demands were not met.
BBB described the first defendant, Mahmud Muhammad, as one of the founding members of Boko Haram who later helped establish Ansaru in 2012.
He alleged that Muhammad became the leader of Ansaru and appointed the second defendant, Abubakar Abbas, as the group’s head of operations.
The witness claimed the group carried out several attacks to pressure the government into freeing its arrested leaders.
He said the terrorists first targeted a lawmaker and later moved their operations to the South-West after another planned attack failed.
According to the witness, the Oriire school attack was part of that strategy to force the government into negotiations.
He told the court that the kidnapped victims were taken to a forest near Old Oyo National Park.
BBB said security agencies later launched a rescue operation after the terrorists allegedly killed two of the victims and threatened to kill more.
He added that the Federal Government refused to negotiate with the terrorists despite their demands.
The witness also alleged that the third, fourth and fifth defendants communicated with commanders holding the kidnapped victims during the operation.
Justice Salim Ibrahim adjourned the case until Tuesday for the continuation of the trial.
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