The Imo State High Court on Thursday began hearing the case against three men accused of abducting 20 prospective corps members and other passengers on October 1.
The defendants, Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu and Mohammed Ali, pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, abduction and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition when they were arraigned on Tuesday.
At Thursday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel Ekezie Nwuzor called Ikem Emmanuel, the principal investigative officer, as the first prosecution witness.
Emmanuel told the court that the victims were abducted around 6:30 a.m. on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway while travelling from Ibadan to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
He said the victims were ambushed by armed men wielding AK-47 rifles and held in a forest for seven days until ransom was paid.
The witness said joint operations by the Department of State Services, the Army and the police led to the suspects’ arrests between October 10 and 14 in a forest between Rivers and Abia states.
He said investigative interviews, phone data analysis and identification parades linked the defendants to the crime and ransom collection.
Emmanuel also told the court that a commercial motorcyclist and the bus driver identified two of the suspects, while the victims identified the defendants after they removed their face masks during captivity.
He added that Usman admitted in a confessional statement to participating in the kidnapping, which he said was carried out by 11 people.
The witness said the defendants’ statements were recorded in the presence of legal representatives.
In a related case, Emmanuel testified that two other suspects, Aminu Aliyu and Dangi Ibrahim, were arrested in Port Harcourt over the October 4 abduction of three travellers in Mbaitolu Local Government Area.
He said the victims were kidnapped along Umuawaka-Ogbu Road, held in Ndegwu Forest and released on October 9.
Justice Emeka Orafu adjourned the cases to October 27, 28, 29 and 30 for continuation of the hearing.
