An operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Michael Jego, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja how John Agbo was tracked and arrested over alleged threats to attack three schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Jego gave the testimony on Friday before the presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, during the ongoing trial.
Agbo is facing charges of terrorism and cybercrime linked to a series of threatening messages sent to Premier International School, The Regent Secondary School, and Oakland International British School.
According to the prosecution, the messages warned of planned attacks on the schools and threatened the lives of students and teachers.
While presenting evidence, DSS counsel Calistus Eze asked the witness to explain how the investigation began.
Jego told the court that the agency acted on petitions submitted by the affected schools in 2024 after they received threatening SMS from multiple phone lines.
He said one of the petitions, dated November 28, 2024, was submitted by Oakland International School.
He added that DSS operatives deployed tracking tools which led them to Otukpo in Benue State, where Agbo was arrested.
“A mobile phone and a SIM card were recovered from him at the point of arrest,” he said.
“The defendant was subsequently moved to Abuja, where he made a statement in the presence of a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria.”
Jego also told the court that the suspect was linked to four phone numbers allegedly used to send the messages.
In one of the messages, the sender threatened to attack the schools and kill both students and teachers, claiming the act could be carried out in less than a minute.
During proceedings, the prosecution presented several exhibits, including the Tecno Android phone recovered from the defendant, petitions from the schools, and a compact disc containing audio and video recordings of the interrogation.
A copy of the defendant’s extra-judicial statement was also admitted as evidence, with no objection from the defence counsel, Hamza Dantani.
However, under cross-examination, Jego acknowledged that the petitions did not identify the defendant by name and that the phone numbers were provided by the schools along with copies of the messages.
When questioned about ownership of the phone lines, he said he could not confirm they belonged to Agbo but maintained that the defendant admitted involvement in drafting the messages.
Agbo, while acknowledging familiarity with the phone presented in court, denied owning it.
At the end of the session, the prosecution requested more time to present additional witnesses and evidence, while the defence raised no objection.
The judge adjourned the case to May 12 for continuation of trial.