Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to grant bail to John Jude Agbo, a man arrested by the Department of State Services over an alleged plot to carry out coordinated attacks on multiple schools in the Federal Capital Territory. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, presiding over the case, denied the bail application on Thursday after the prosecution presented its fourth witness and formally closed its case against the defendant. Agbo is facing terrorism and cybercrime charges under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, for allegedly planning to harm students and teachers at several schools in Abuja.
According to court documents, Agbo used his GSM numbers to send threatening SMS messages to schools in the FCT, including Premier International School, The Regent Secondary School and Oakland International British School. The DSS alleged that the defendant planned to attack the schools and “kill both students and teachers,” stressing that it would not take them up to a minute to achieve that. The prosecution's fourth witness, a DSS operative, told the court how his team investigated Agbo and some of his collaborators, including the analysis of messages allegedly sent to the targeted schools demanding large sums of money and threatening attacks if the payments were not delivered to designated locations.
During the proceedings, the prosecution tendered an audio-visual recording of Agbo’s interview session with DSS investigators, which was admitted in evidence and played in open court. The prosecution also tendered a copy of the defendant’s extra-judicial statement and other documents, all of which were admitted in the absence of objection from the defence lawyer. While being cross-examined, the DSS operative confirmed that intelligence led them to the defendant and that Agbo admitted being part of those behind the planned attacks.
Ruling on the bail application, Justice Abdulmalik held that there was no evidence to show that Agbo would not jump bail if granted freedom. The judge ordered that he be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the determination of the case. The matter was adjourned until September 24 for Agbo to open his defence. The case has drawn significant attention due to the serious nature of the allegations and the potential threat to the safety of students and teachers in the Federal Capital Territory. The DSS had earlier stated that it received intelligence about plans to attack and destroy property in the affected schools.
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