A witness for the Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday narrated to the Federal High Court in Abuja how 49 students and teachers kidnapped from schools in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State spent 56 days in captivity under harsh conditions.

The witness, identified as “AAA” to protect her identity, told Justice Salim Ibrahim that the victims were moved to six different locations, forced to remain barefoot, and made to sleep on grass under heavy rain and sunshine before security agents eventually rescued them.

The defendants, accused of being members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) terrorist group, 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).

Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the DSS witness told the court that their ordeal was particularly harrowing because children as young as one and a half years old from pre-nursery schools were among those held captive throughout the period.

The witness claimed that, on the day of the kidnapping, a group of fully armed bandits invaded their schools on 12 motorcycles, shooting sporadically and preventing the students and teachers from escaping.

She said the bandits “carted” them away into the bush, with about four victims travelling on each motorcycle. She added that a Toyota car belonging to one of the teachers was also used to transport other victims into the bush.

While in the bush, the witness said they were addressed by the bandits’ leader, who told them that the victims were being held to negotiate the release of members of the Ansaru group, rather than for ransom.

On two separate occasions, the witness said two teachers among the captives, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were brought out and openly beheaded on the grounds that the government was not serious about yielding to their demands for the release of their detained members.

She also told the court that their phones were seized and used to contact their relatives and government officials to relay the kidnappers’ grievances to the government.

The witness further said that, while in the bush, they faced hunger and acute shortages of water, adding that about four victims were given one cup of water during rationing.

She said that, initially, they were fed rice, salt, and palm oil. But after the salt ran out, the kidnappers fed them rice and palm oil, and later only white rice when the palm oil was exhausted.

Further narrating their ordeal, the witness claimed that the young children among them were routinely flogged by the kidnappers while being fed to prevent them from struggling for the white rice. She added that they were given food in a dirty rubber bucket, “like chickens”.

Throughout the 56 days in captivity, the witness said they had no opportunity to wash their clothes or take their baths, leaving them extremely dirty and exposed to danger before their rescue.

She further said the victims had to close their eyes before they could drink the dirty water served to them by the kidnappers, adding that they drank it simply to survive.

She said it was at the sixth camp that security forces arrived and exchanged gunfire with the bandits before finally rescuing the victims.

Meanwhile, defence lawyer Bala Dakum is to cross-examine the DSS witness on September 18.

Justice Salim Ibrahim has also ordered that the defendants remain in DSS custody throughout the duration of their trial.