A witness in the trial of five suspected members of the Ansaru terrorist group has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were taken to pressure the government into releasing detained members of the group.

The witness, identified as AAA for security reasons, made the disclosure on Thursday while testifying before Justice Salim Ibrahim.

She was led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation.

The witness said armed men invaded the affected schools on about 12 motorcycles, shooting sporadically to prevent the pupils and teachers from escaping.

She said about four abductees were carried on each motorcycle, while a teacher’s car was also used to transport some of the victims.

According to her, four people were packed into the front of the car while about 10 others were squeezed into the back seat before the vehicle was eventually abandoned and the victims forced to trek a long distance into the forest.

She told the court that the leader of the kidnappers informed them that their abduction was not primarily for ransom but was intended to secure negotiations for the release of detained members of Ansaru.

The witness said the captives were moved between six different locations during their captivity, where they slept on grass and endured heavy rain, hot weather, hunger and thirst.

She further alleged that two abducted teachers were taken away and killed on separate occasions, with the kidnappers reportedly claiming that the government was not serious about meeting their demands.

The kidnappers, she said, also used mobile phones seized from the victims to contact their relatives and government officials while negotiations over their demands continued.

Describing the conditions in captivity, the witness said four abductees sometimes had to share a single cup of water and that the water supplied by the kidnappers was extremely dirty.

“We had to drink the dirty water just to survive,” she told the court.

She said the captives were initially fed rice mixed with salt and palm oil, but after the salt ran out, they were given rice and palm oil before eventually being left with only plain white rice.

The witness also alleged that some of the children were flogged by the kidnappers to prevent them from struggling over food.

Earlier, five defendants; Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, also known as Isah Adam or Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar, were re-arraigned on a seven-count amended charge.

The defendants, alleged to be members of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

The defence counsel, Bala Dakum, is expected to cross-examine the witness on Friday, while the trial judge ordered that the defendants remain in DSS custody throughout the duration of the trial.

The incident occurred on May 15, 2026, when gunmen attacked three schools in Oriire LGA and abducted 39 pupils and seven teachers, including the principal of one of the schools. Two people were killed during the attack.

On July 10, the Federal Government announced that all the abducted pupils and teachers had been rescued following a joint security operation.