A Department of State Services (DSS) witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday that three men accused of terrorism admitted during interrogation that they spied on American and Israeli diplomatic missions for Iran.
Deputy Director James Simon, testifying for the prosecution before Justice Emeka Nwite, said the defendants — Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussein Musa and Adam Suleiman — made the admissions in extrajudicial statements read into the record.
Simon said the first defendant, Haruna Abbas, confessed to organising the trip to Iran, where the group allegedly received military-style training, including weapons handling, and were tasked with gathering open-source intelligence on the American and Israeli embassies. Quoting Abbas’s statement, Simon told the court: “Upon arrival in Iran, we were taken to a two-storey building, and from there, we were taken to an Iranian military barracks where we were trained on gun shootings. They requested another three trusted persons to be sent to them for training, but we were arrested upon arrival in Nigeria.”
Under cross-examination, defence counsel Aliyu Yawuru elicited testimony that the involvement of non-military personnel in surveillance, recruitment and weapons handling amounts to acts of terrorism, the witness said.
Simon also said the defendants’ statements indicated a mission to carry out surveillance and collect information on the American and Israeli embassies. He told the court that one piece of information the men allegedly provided was that the Israeli government had given agricultural support to the Kwara State Government.
The matter was adjourned to April 4 for continuation of the cross‑examination of the witness (PW1).
The charges, filed as FHC/ABJ/CR/129/2014, allege Abbas was arrested on March 16, 2013, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while returning from Lebanon. He is accused of recruiting Nigerians, including Musa and Suleiman, for terrorist training in Iran; participating in terrorist meetings; and compiling a list and map of American and Israeli interests in Lagos — including the U.S. consular office — which he allegedly sent to an individual identified as “Abu Ali” in Iran using coded language and encryption.
Musa and Suleiman are charged with conspiracy to obtain Nigerian passports and Iranian visas to travel to Iran for terrorist training. The defendants have pleaded not guilty.
