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Mgbidi, Imo State — The driver of a commercial bus that was conveying 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State on Independence Day has identified five men standing trial as the attackers who intercepted his vehicle and took the passengers hostage.
Testifying on Friday as the third prosecution witness before the Imo State High Court in Mgbidi, the driver told Justice Emeka Orafu that he clearly recognised the defendants, particularly the first accused person.
He stated that the first defendant approached his bus while clutching an AK-47 rifle during the attack and later marched the 20 prospective corps members into a nearby bush after taking them hostage.
Another prosecution witness, identified as Light Timothy, also gave evidence. He told the court that he sighted 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 Department of State Services (DSS) state office.
Both witnesses maintained their accounts under cross-examination by defence counsel. When the defence requested the bus driver’s identity card, Justice Orafu confirmed that the colour photograph on the document strongly resembled the witness. The driver’s identity card and the testimonies of both witnesses were subsequently admitted in evidence.
The five defendants — Mohammed Ali, Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, Ibrahim Jiji and Aminu Haliru — were arraigned by the DSS on charges relating to the abduction of the 20 prospective corps members and a civilian. They are facing counts bordering on conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms.
The incident occurred in the early hours of October 1, 2026, when gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles attacked commercial buses conveying the university graduates from Ibadan in Oyo State to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. The victims were seized and taken into the bush along the expressway.
Earlier in the trial, a DSS investigating officer testified that an identification parade had been conducted in which victims and witnesses, including a bus driver, picked out some of the suspects. The agency also told the court that intelligence indicated the involvement of up to 11 persons in the operation, with some still at large.
The court has been conducting the trial on an expedited basis. At the end of Friday’s proceedings, Justice Orafu adjourned the matter for continuation of hearing.
The case continues to attract public attention as one of the high-profile abduction trials linked to the security challenges facing prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps.
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