A Federal High Court in Abuja today heard how operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) tracked and arrested a man accused of sending threat messages to schools in the Federal Capital Territory.
An operative of the DSS, Michael Jego, told the court that the agency received petitions from three Abuja-based schools in 2024 over text messages threatening to kill students and teachers and destroy property, reports The Guardian.
Jego testified as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the trial of John Jude Agbo, who is facing a two-count charge bordering on terrorism and cybercrime.
The defendant, who was arraigned on March 17 in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/06/2026, is being prosecuted under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
According to the DSS, Agbo allegedly used multiple GSM numbers to send threatening SMS messages to schools, including Premier International School, The Regent Secondary School, and Oakland International British School.
The prosecution said the messages contained threats to attack the schools and kill both students and teachers within minutes.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Dr Calistus Eze, Jego said his team was directed to investigate a petition received from Oakland International School on November 28, 2024.
He told the court that the investigation involved the use of forensic tools, which led to the arrest of the defendant in Otukpo, Benue State. A mobile phone and SIM card were recovered from him at the time of arrest.
Jego further stated that the defendant was subsequently brought to Abuja, where he made a statement in the presence of a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria.
The prosecution tendered several exhibits, including the recovered Tecno Android phone, petitions from the affected schools, a compact disc containing audio-visual recordings of the defendant’s interview, and his extra-judicial statement.
The court admitted all the exhibits without objection from defence counsel, Hamza Dantani.
Although the defendant acknowledged familiarity with the phone, he denied ownership.
During cross-examination, Jego admitted that the petitions did not mention the defendant by name and that the phone numbers used to send the messages were provided by the complainants.
He also said he could not independently confirm ownership of the numbers but noted that the defendant admitted involvement in composing the threatening messages.
At the end of the proceedings, the prosecution sought an adjournment to enable it to call additional witnesses and present further evidence, a request not opposed by the defence.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the case until May 12 for continuation of trial.
