The driver of a bus conveying 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted in Imo state has identified five men standing trial over the incident as the suspects who attacked his vehicle and took the passengers hostage.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness, the driver told the state high court in Mgbidi, Imo state, on Friday that he recognised the men, especially the first defendant, who allegedly approached his bus with an AK-47 rifle.
He said the same defendant later marched the 20 prospective corps members into a nearby bush after the abduction.
Another prosecution witness, identified as Light Timothy, told the court that he saw two of the defendants carrying AK-47 rifles shortly after the abduction along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha expressway.
Timothy said he later identified the first and second defendants as members of the gang during an identification parade conducted at the state office of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Both witnesses testified at the resumed trial of five men accused of involvement in the abduction.
During cross-examination, defence counsel requested the driver’s identity card. Emeka Orafu, the presiding judge, confirmed that the photograph on the document bore a strong resemblance to the witness.
The driver’s identity card and the testimonies of both witnesses were subsequently admitted in evidence.
The defendants — Mohammed Ali, Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, Ibrahim Jiji and Aminu Haliru — were arraigned by the DSS over the abduction of 20 prospective corps members and a civilian.
The DSS had said three of the defendants — Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida, 21; and Ali, 23, also known as Smallie Pepper — were specifically charged with kidnapping the prospective corps members.
They are accused of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking under the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
The five men were also accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
The victims were abducted on October 1, when gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The attack occurred around 6:30 am near Umunoha in Mbaitoli LGA of Imo state.
Ten victims were rescued shortly after the incident, while the remaining abductees were freed on October 7 by a joint team of DSS, military and police operatives at Amakohia-Ubi forest in the state.
Five suspects were subsequently arrested in Rivers and Abia states between October 10 and 14, while three other suspects reportedly escaped during the operations with gunshot wounds.
At the end of Friday’s proceedings, the judge adjourned the trial to November 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2026, for continuation of the hearing.
