-freedom for terrorist commanders,
-2 Hilux vehicles
-N1bn ransom
-Sharia law adoption

By Seyi Balogun

Following public outrage over victims’ continued stay in what is believed to be extreme harsh condition, terrorists holding teachers and pupils abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have reportedly made a four-point demand before freeing the captives.

The attackers of schools in Esinele, Yawota and Alawusa communities on May 15, abducting pupils and teachers are said to be demanding the release of detained terrorist commanders, payment of ransom, two Hilux vehicles and the implementation of Sharia-related law.

The two commanders they are reportedly calling for their release are Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, and his deputy, Abubakar Abba, alias Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, also called Mallam Mamuda.

The duo are leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan, JAMBS, identified also as Ansaru — a breakaway faction of Boko Haram — and are alleged to have aided and abetted acts of terrorism in Nigeria between 2013 and 2015.

They are also linked to the 2022 Kuje prison break.

They were arrested between May and July 2025 and are currently standing trial on terrorism charges before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/464/2025, with their trial beginning on January 15, 2026.

Usman was sentenced to 15 years in prison by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 11, 2025, after pleading guilty to one count of illegal mining — which he admitted he used to fund arms procurement for terrorism and kidnapping.

He denied 31 other counts and remains in DSS custody pending trial on those charges.

His deputy, Abba, pleaded not guilty to all 32 counts and is also standing trial before the same court.

Other reports indicate the ransom demand stands at ₦1bn, to be paid into a bank account in the Republic of Benin. But the amount could not be independently verified.

Security analysts have warned that releasing the commanders would pose serious risks to national security.

For instance, Brigadier-General, Bashir Adewinbi (Retd), while speaking with the press said the situation had put the government in a tight corner, but warned that paying ransom or releasing terrorist commanders would embolden criminal groups and fund further attacks.

Retired Brigadier- General, Peter Aro, urged the government to first establish proof that the abductees were still alive before taking any decision, noting that prolonged captivity posed serious risks, particularly for young children.

The Oyo State Government has declined to comment on the demands or the state of negotiations, with the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, saying it would be “unhelpful” to disclose the government’s strategy while efforts to secure the victims’ release were ongoing.

On May 17, two days after the attack, the abductors released a video showing the beheading of one of the kidnapped teachers, Michael Oyedokun, a mathematics teacher at Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele.

Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed the killing in a statement on Monday, May 18, describing it as deeply painful.

*Tor Tiv Palace Relocation to Ihugh

*Taking road cost from N28b to N68b

*Deploying over N200m to sack Chief Judge

*Govt labels allegations,
“cocktail of conspiracy theories … falsehoods”

By Felix Umande, Makurdi

Former Benue State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aondona Dajoh, has accused Governor Hyacinth Alia of orchestrating his removal from office after he rejected a directive to relocate the Palace of the Tor Tiv from Gboko to Ihugh, the governor’s hometown in Vandeikya LGA.

Dajoh made the allegations on Friday, 5th June 2026, during his 50th birthday celebration at Akpagher Mbatiav, Gboko LGA, before political associates, traditional leaders, family and supporters.

The former Speaker claimed Governor Alia sent an official communication directing him to move the revered Tor Tiv Palace from its ancestral headquarters in Gboko to Ihugh.

“Governor Alia sent a letter to me directing that I should relocate the Tor Tiv Palace from Gboko to his community, Ihugh. I rejected the idea. I told him that he wanted to kill me. This was one of my biggest offenses,” Dajoh said.

He alleged that Moses Ternenge, described as one of the governor’s most influential men, warned him that rejecting the proposal meant the end of his speakership.

Dajoh also accused the governor of deploying over N200 million in a failed attempt to remove Chief Judge Justice Maurice Ikpambese.

Clarifying his resignation, Dajoh said it was not due to any impeachment plot against the governor, as speculated by the Alia administration. He argued that a Speaker cannot single-handedly impeach a governor, challenging the administration to produce any impeachment notice signed by members if such a plot existed.

Dajoh listed core issues that triggered his fallout with the governor: a parliamentary probe into the Wurukum–Airforce–Tyomu Road contract that moved from N28 billion to N68 billion, the state wage bill, questions around alleged employment of 9,700 teachers, stepping down of two commissioner nominees, purchase of official cars for seven lawmakers, and the refusal to consider relocating the Tor Tiv Palace.

He further referenced a 2023 pre-election statement by Governor Alia in Jemgbagh that “anybody who beats the Jemgbagh people will be inflicted with madness,” arguing the governor had himself acted against Jemgbagh interests.

The Benue State Government responded on Saturday, 6th June 2026, through Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sir Tersoo Kula, describing Dajoh’s claims as a “cocktail of conspiracy theories, unfounded accusations, outright falsehoods and reckless claims.”

Kula dismissed the palace relocation allegation as “entirely blatant falsehood, baseless and imaginary,” and challenged Dajoh to make public the alleged letter. He noted that any executive correspondence to the Assembly must be read on the floor as procedure demands, and that the Assembly was not Dajoh’s “private establishment.”

The CPS said the House lacks constitutional authority to relocate the headquarters of a traditional institution like the Tor Tiv Palace, and questioned Dajoh’s understanding of legislative powers.

On the N200 million claim, Kula said Dajoh “owes Benue people a clear explanation on where he took the money to, and who were the beneficiaries of the ‘bribe’ money.”

He also corrected Dajoh’s reference to the Wurukum–Airforce Base road, stating the project is the Wurukum–Renewed Hope Estate road after Angbaaye village, a federal highway approved by the Ministry of Works as a dual carriageway with a five-span bridge at River Mu, covering over 40km. Governor Alia, he added, obtained federal approval for the reconstruction.

Kula concluded that history will remember leaders for service and integrity, “not for miserable attempts to pontificate or grandstand after leaving office.”

Dajoh resigned as Speaker of the 10th Assembly in 2024 following months of tension with the executive. With both sides now trading accusations publicly, the dispute has reignited debate over executive-legislature relations, legislative oversight, and the protection of traditional institutions in Benue State.

By Our Reporter

Aminu Baba Kusa, the second defendant in the trial of the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd) on Friday, June 5, 2026, admitted before Justice Charles O. Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja that he personally wrote his extrajudicial statement in the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, after reading and understanding the cautionary words, preceding the writing of his statement and further admitted that he appended his signature to the statement.

He made the admission under cross-examination by the prosecuting counsel, O.A. Atolagbe, in a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the extrajudicial statement, after he claimed midway into the trial that his statement was obtained by the EFCC under duress, contrary to the provisions of Sections 15(4) and 17(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act ACJA 2015.

The defendant, a former Group Executive Director in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC, now, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited also admitted that his statement was taken after a search had been conducted in his residence and that the contents of his statement entirely dwelt on the outcome of the search.

In challenging the defendant’s claim that he spent 30 days in EFCC’s custody, spanning from November 24, 2015 to December 24, 2015, the prosecuting counsel drew his attention to the fact that he appeared before Justice Baba Yusuf on December 14, 15 and 18, 2015, during which he was granted bail and was released after satisfying his bail conditions.

The cross-examination followed the defendant’s examination by his counsel as well as that of the third defendant, Solomon Umoh, SAN.

Justice Agbaza adjourned the matter until July 3, 2026, for the continuation of the sub-trial.

The quartet of Dasuki, Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, Abuja are facing prosecution by the EFCC on a 32-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust and dishonesty to the tune of N33,200,000,000 (Thirty-three billion, Two Hundred Million Naira).