A witness of the Department of State Services (DSS), James Simon, on Wednesday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that three terrorism suspects admitted spying on the United States and Israeli embassies on behalf of Iran.
Simon, who appeared as the first prosecution witness before Justice Emeka Nwite, said the defendants — Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussein Musa, and Adam Suleiman — made the confessions during interrogation and in their extra-judicial statements following their arrest.
Reading from the statement of the first defendant, Abbas, the witness told the court that he admitted leading the group on a trip to Iran, where they allegedly received training in weapon handling and intelligence gathering.
According to Simon, Abbas also confessed that their assignment included sourcing open intelligence on the United States and Israel for Iranian authorities.
“The mission was to send news concerning the American Embassy as well as the Embassy of Israel,” the witness quoted Abbas as saying in his statement.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Aliyu Yawuru, the DSS witness maintained that the involvement of non-military personnel in surveillance, recruitment, and weapon handling constitutes acts of terrorism.
He further told the court that the suspects’ mission, as contained in their statements, involved surveillance and intelligence gathering on U.S. and Israeli diplomatic facilities in Nigeria.
Simon added that one of the pieces of information allegedly gathered by the defendants was that the Israeli government had provided agricultural support to the Kwara State Government.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until April 1, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination of the witness.
According to the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/129/2014, Abbas was arrested on March 16, 2013, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while returning from Lebanon.
He is accused of recruiting young Nigerians, including Musa and Suleiman, for terrorism training in Iran, as well as participating in terrorist meetings and facilitating support for terrorist activities.
The prosecution further alleged that Abbas compiled a list of American and Israeli interests in Lagos, including the U.S. Consulate, mapped their locations, and transmitted the information to a contact in Iran using coded and encrypted communication.
Musa and Suleiman, on their part, are charged with conspiracy and preparation for acts of terrorism, including obtaining international passports and Iranian visas for the purpose of undergoing terrorist training.
They are also accused of conducting surveillance in Abuja, Kano, and Lagos on US and Israeli embassies in preparation for a potential attack.
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