By Taiye Agbaje
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, granted an accelerated hearing in the ongoing trial of three terror suspects, accused of spying on American and Israeli embassies in Nigeria for certain individuals in Iran.
Justice Emeka Nwite made the order following an oral application by prosecutiing lawyer, Bello Abu, which was not opposed by defence lawyers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three men; Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussaini Musa and Adam Suleiman, were arrested in Kano and Lagos States in 2013.
At Wednesday’s hearing, a prosecution witness told the court that Abbas admitted being recruited to spy on the interests of the United States of America and Israel in Nigeria, particularly their embassies.
The witness, a senior official of the Department of State Services (DSS), identified as James Simon, disclosed this.
The officer said one of those recruited for the assignment confessed to the act and how he also recruited others.
Simon, who featured as the first prosecution witness (PW-1), was cross-examined on Tuesday by Abbas’ lawyer, Aliyu Yauri.
The witness said he recorded the statement made by Abbas, in which he (Abbas) detailed his involvement in the whole episode and how he helped the Iranians recruit some other Nigerians.
He said from the statement written by Abbas (who is the 1st defendant), Iranian military men trained some Nigerians, particularly the defendants in the act of terrorism.
When asked by Yauri if he would consider the Iranian military men as members of a terrorist group, the witness said although he did not know the military men themselves, “their involvement in such an act (of training Nigerians in the act of terrorism), even if you are not formally branded as a terrorist organisation, still amounts to the act of terrorism.”
On whether the defendants could be called terrorists by merely engaging in military training under the tutelage of Iranian military men, the witness responded in affirmative.
He added: “The act of involvement of non-military personnel in surveillance, recruitment of persons and even weapon handling amount to the act of terrorism.
“The question should be, for what purpose were their training? Why will non-military personnel go outside the shores of the country to get military training?”
Reading from one of Abbas’ statements, the witness noted that the 1st defendant wrote that they were trained by military men, whose names he did not know.
The witness then queried if it was possible for someone to be trained by instructors, “who you don’t know and can’t identify?”
When asked to disclose the mission defendants were to carry out, the witness, reading from Abbas’ statement, said as stated by the 1st defendant, some of the missions they were to carry out are in surveillance, counter-surveillance and information gathering.
“Based on his confession, he said they were to send the names of Israeli and American companies.”
Upon Yauri’s request that the witness tells the court the defendant’s capacity and mission, based on the exhibits before the court, Simon said from Abbas’ statement, he confessed that their training in Iran started with surveillance
He said it also involved how to recruit persons, security of information, open source intelligence, communication and a one-day class on guns handling.
He said Abbas added that they were later taken to a shooting ground in a military barracks in Iran and trained for one day.
The witness also read part of the statement by Abbass where he said “my mission was to send news concerning the American embassy and Israeli embassy locations.”
He said Abbas also wrote in his confessional statement that he was asked to recruit some others for the assignment.
Simon further read from Abbas’ statement, where he said: “I came back to Nigeria, they gave me a mission to write open source news to the America and Israel.”
From another page in the statement, the witness quoted Abbas as saying: “And, we discussed about those to come. They requested three persons, from among those we trusted to be sent to them for training.
“When I came back, we agreed in the year 2010 so I will arrange for their trip whenever I come back. They gave me the same mission – America, Israel, open source intelligence.”
Simon said from what Abbas wrote in his statement, his missions included sending people for training in Iran and sending open source intelligence on America and Israel.
Justice Nwite adjourned tyr matter until April 1 for further hearing.
Earlier in the proceedings in the trial of five men being held over the June 5, 2022 attack at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, the 2nd defendant, Al Qasim Idris, spoke about how he was detained and statements obtained from him.
He said he could not write and read in English Language, which was why he could not write his statement by himself.
Idris however told the court that when he fell sick in custody, the DSS took him to hospital and ensured that he was well attended to.
The matter was adjourned until March 26 for continuation of trial. (MAN)