The federal government on Monday filed 57 amended charges against nine suspected terrorists over the deadly attack on the Yelwata community in Benue State, where about 150 persons were reportedly killed.
The amended charge was presented before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja by Justice Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister, who led the Federal Government’s legal team.
Fagbemi informed the court that although 10 defendants were initially listed in the amended charge, the prosecution sought the court’s approval to strike out the name of the sixth defendant, Yakubu Mamman.
The application was not opposed by defence counsel, including Ibrahim Angulu, SAN; A. I. Kaura; and Adamu Abdullahi, and the court subsequently struck out Mamman’s name.
The AGF also applied for the substitution of the initial charge dated September 9, 2025, and filed on September 10, 2025, under which eight defendants were listed, with the amended charge dated January 19, 2026, and filed on January 20, 2026, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/471/2025. With no objection from the defence, Justice Abdulmalik struck out the earlier charge.
Following the ruling, Fagbemi requested that the 57-count charge be read to the defendants to enable them to enter their pleas.
The suspects are accused of carrying out the attack on June 13, 2025, during which several houses were razed, and about 150 residents were killed, while many others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The nine defendants are Ardo Lawal Mohammed, Muhammadu Saidu, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Muhammed Musa, Saleh Mohammed, and Bako Jibrin.
The 57 counts were being read to the defendants at the time of filing this report
