The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday admitted an AK-47 rifle and several naira notes as exhibits in the ongoing trial of nine suspects linked to the June 13, 2025 attack on Yelwata village in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik admitted the rifle as Exhibit A after the first prosecution witness, Moses Paul, a senior officer of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Response Unit, identified the firearm in court. The accompanying naira notes were admitted as Exhibits C1 to C5, while a ballistic report confirming the weapon’s functionality was admitted as Exhibit B.

The Federal Government had arraigned the nine men on 57 counts of terrorism over their alleged involvement in the attack, which reportedly claimed about 150 lives. The defendants are Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono, Ardo Muhammadu Saidu, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Musa Mohammed, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Sale Mohammed, and Bako Jibrin, all of whom pleaded not guilty.

During his testimony, Paul explained that police investigations traced the crisis to the enforcement of the Benue State anti-grazing law. He said the third defendant, Abdullahi, complained that his cattle and children were killed and allegedly vowed to retaliate after refusing police invitations to resolve the dispute. The second defendant, Saidu, claimed that over 150 cows and two children were killed near Yelwata and that he subsequently purchased an AK-47 rifle for N1 million from a man identified as Musa.

Paul testified that several community leaders, including the defendants, later held meetings in Nasarawa State, where the first defendant, Dono, allegedly directed Fulani leaders, known as Ardos, to organise and fund a coordinated attack. Saidu allegedly convened another meeting at his palace to select targets, ultimately settling on Yelwata, Daudu, and Udeyi, with Yelwata as the primary target. Abdullahi reportedly contributed N300,000, while Musa Mohammed contributed N200,000 toward the operation.

The witness further alleged that Abdullahi led the attack, while Saidu participated alongside five of his children, who were armed with AK-47 rifles and are still at large. Saidu reportedly admitted to personally killing eight people during the assault. Police recovered one AK-47 rifle from Saidu, which the witness displayed in court, noting, “The rifle has some naira notes in between because it is their belief that if you put money in an AK-47, it will answer.”

After the rifle was tendered, two defence lawyers reserved their objections, while others raised none, allowing the court to admit the firearm and naira notes. The rifle was later subjected to ballistic examination, and the report confirming it was recently used and functional was admitted as evidence, despite objections from counsel to the first and second defendants, who argued that the witness was not the maker of the document and that it required certification.

Paul also testified that Musa Mohammed, brother of the third defendant, attended one of the planning meetings and contributed financially. He alleged that the eighth defendant, Shaibu Ibrahim, attended a meeting but refused to provide information to the police, which could have aided investigations and potentially prevented the attack.

The prosecution sought to tender several statements allegedly made by the defendants during investigations. Defence lawyers objected, claiming the statements were obtained under duress and without legal representation. Justice Abdulmalik consequently ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the statements and adjourned proceedings to March 13.

Earlier, defence counsel accused police officers of intimidating the defendants in custody to coerce statements. In response, the prosecution denied any such attempts, saying officers only visited the correctional centre to retrieve mobile phones allegedly taken by the defendants. Justice Abdulmalik stressed that the court could not act on allegations without concrete evidence from correctional authorities and must rely on cogent facts before issuing directives.

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