An officer of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that two suspected commanders of the terror group Ansaru received weapons training in Libya.
The DSS operative, who testified as a prosecution witness while being led in evidence by counsel David Kaswe, said the suspects confessed to undergoing weapons handling training in Libya.
According to the witness, the defendants also admitted that foreign instructors in Libya trained them on the manufacture and use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The operative told the court that the instructors who trained the suspects were from Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.
He further disclosed that the first defendant, Mahmoud Muhammed Usman, was arrested after prolonged intelligence gathering identified him as the leader of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, also known as Ansaru.
The witness added that the second defendant, Abubakar Abba, was arrested by DSS operatives at Ugwan Musa Bypass in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to the DSS officer, both suspects admitted to being members of Ansaru, which he described as a breakaway faction of Boko Haram allegedly involved in terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and illegal mining across the North-West, North-Central, South-West, as well as in Edo and Delta states.
He told the court that the defendants also confessed to founding the Ansaru group in Jigawa State after holding several meetings in 2012.
The witness further testified that the second defendant admitted participating in a 2020 attack on a Nigerian Army formation in Wawa, which allegedly led to the death of several soldiers.
He added that the defendants confessed to kidnapping the in-law of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, as well as an immigration officer and a customs officer.
According to the witness, the second defendant also admitted swearing allegiance to Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wal‑Muslimin (JNIM), which allegedly supplied the group with arms and ammunition.
However, defence counsel Bala Dakum objected to the admissibility of the defendants’ confessional statements, arguing that they should not be admitted in evidence.
The prosecution opposed the objection, maintaining that the statements were obtained voluntarily and in the presence of a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council in compliance with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
In a brief ruling, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the confessional statements.
The matter was adjourned to April 13, 2026, for the commencement of the trial-within-trial.
