The Department of State Services will on Thursday, September 17, re-arraign five men accused of abducting pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15.

The suspects are also accused of complicity in the subsequent killing of two of the victims.

They will face a six-count amended charge filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, on behalf of the Federal Government.

The defendants are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, also known as Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.

The Federal Government alleges that the defendants belong to Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as Ansaru, a terrorist organisation.

The re-arraignment was initially scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, but could not proceed after the first defendant, Muhammad, objected to the lawyers assigned to represent the group.

A Deputy Director of the Legal Aid Council, Akilaluyel Shettima, had announced his appearance for all five defendants before the court.

Muhammad, speaking on behalf of the others, told the trial judge, Justice Salim Ibrahim, that they had previously been represented by a lawyer, Bala Dakum, and wanted him to continue handling their defence.

The objection triggered a dispute over the defendants’ constitutional right to choose their counsel.

Oyedepo urged the court to respect that right, stressing that the DSS was a law-abiding institution committed to justice rather than the persecution of the accused.

Justice Ibrahim subsequently adjourned the re-arraignment until Thursday, September 17.

The judge directed the defendants to contact their preferred lawyer and ensure his appearance in court.

He also ordered the DSS to grant the defendants access to the lawyer to allow them to prepare adequately for their defence.

The five men remain defendants in the case, and the allegations against them have not been proved in court.

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a suspected producer of substances believed to contain methanol following the sudden deaths of about 30 residents of Araromi-Obu and other communities in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

The suspect, whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested after the police commenced an investigation into the deaths reportedly linked to the consumption of suspected contaminated alcoholic drinks and concoctions.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday evening.

Jimoh said the suspect was assisting the police with the investigation, adding that substances suspected to contain methanol had also been recovered.

He said the recovered substances had been subjected to further investigation and forensic examination to determine their exact composition and establish whether they were linked to the reported deaths.

The police spokesperson added that the bodies of the deceased were also undergoing medical and forensic procedures to establish the actual cause of death.

He said, “The outcome of these examinations is expected to provide further medical evidence regarding the actual cause of the deaths.”

Jimoh further disclosed that operatives of the state Criminal Investigation Department had arrested 14 other suspects comprising alleged sellers and consumers of the drinks and concoctions at different locations in the affected communities.

The development came days after the Ondo State Government confirmed that 29 people had died following the suspected consumption of contaminated alcoholic beverages in Araromi-Obu and other communities in Odigbo LGA.

The state Commissioner for Health, Banji Awolowo-Ajaka, who disclosed this on Friday, said 60 cases had so far been recorded.

According to him, three of the affected persons were receiving treatment in hospitals, while 27 others were under medical observation.

The commissioner said about 95 per cent of those affected were males aged between 16 and 55.

He listed the affected communities as Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu, Newtown, Odole, Okele and Oniparaga.

Awolowo-Ajaka said the victims presented symptoms including headache, body pain, general weakness, visual impairment, difficulty in breathing and altered consciousness.

He added that some of the patients deteriorated rapidly and died within a few hours.

Following the development, the Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, directed sustained enforcement against the production, distribution and sale of unapproved, adulterated or otherwise dangerous alcoholic substances across the state.

The police said the investigation was ongoing, while the forensic examination of the recovered substances and the remains of the deceased would help determine the exact cause of the deaths.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the remand of a Service Administrator with First City Monument Bank Plc, Gideon Bakpa Aghogho, and a former employee of the bank, Oscar Ebere Chukwuebuka, over an alleged $25,000 cyber fraud.

Justice Friday Ogazi gave the order on Wednesday following the arraignment of the two men by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime and fraud.

The EFCC alleged that Aghogho, Chukwuebuka and a man identified as Scott, who is still at large, conspired between July 24 and 26, 2026, to gain unauthorised access to the bank’s server and siphon $25,000.

The prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari-Bala, told the court that Aghogho allegedly released his access code to Chukwuebuka, who was said to have approached him to facilitate access to the bank’s system.

According to the prosecutor, the access code, which was linked to the bank’s local Administrative Credential, known as ITSD, was allegedly used to gain access to the FCMB Virtual Centre Platform.
Buhari-Bala further alleged that after the money was siphoned, Aghogho received $2,000, while Chukwuebuka allegedly received $400.

The prosecutor said the alleged offences violated provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

When the charges were read to them, Aghogho pleaded not guilty, while Chukwuebuka pleaded guilty.
Following their pleas, Justice Ogazi adjourned the case until August 27, 2026, for a review of the facts relating to the charges against Chukwuebuka.

The judge also ordered that the two defendants be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the next hearing.

Before the arraignment, counsel to the defendants, N. Egah and Livingstone Madu, told the court that their clients were willing to enter into a plea bargain agreement.

The prosecutor, however, said the EFCC was not aware of any plea bargain arrangement involving the defendants.
One of the counts alleged that Aghogho, Chukwuebuka and Scott conspired to provide and use Aghogho’s access code to the FCMB system, thereby enabling unauthorised access to the bank’s Virtual Centre Platform.

Another count accused Aghogho of unlawfully disclosing access credentials, including the bank’s server IP and domain credentials, which allegedly facilitated access to the bank’s database.

The EFCC also alleged that Aghogho retained $2,000 on July 26, 2026, while Chukwuebuka retained $400, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the sums were proceeds of an unlawful act.

The defendants have not been convicted of the allegations.

The case was adjourned until August 27 for further proceedings.