The Federal Government on Monday filed 57 amended charges against nine suspected terrorists in connection with the deadly attack on Yelwata community in Benue State, where about 150 people were reportedly killed.
The amended charge was presented before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, 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 applied 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 from the charge.
The Attorney-General also sought the court’s approval to substitute the original 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. The amended charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/471/2025, was not opposed by the defence, prompting Justice Abdulmalik to strike out the earlier charge.
Following the ruling, Fagbemi applied for the 57-count charge to be read to the defendants to enable them to take their pleas.
The defendants are accused of attacking Yelwata community on June 13, 2025, during which several houses were razed, about 150 residents were killed and many others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The nine defendants listed in the amended charge are Ardo Lawal Mohammed, Muhammadu Saidu, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Muhammed Musa, Saleh Mohammed and Bako Jibrin.
At the time of filing this report, the 57-count charge was being read to the defendants, while the court proceedings were ongoing.
