The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered an accelerated hearing in the trial of three men accused of spying on United States and Israeli interests in Nigeria for contacts linked to Iran, in a case that is now raising fresh concerns about foreign intelligence activity on Nigerian soil.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the request on Wednesday following an oral application by prosecuting counsel, Bello Abu, which was not opposed by the defence.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the defendants, Haruna Abbas, Ibrahim Musa and Adam Suleiman were arrested in Kano and Lagos States in 2013.
At the resumed hearing, a prosecution witness from the Department of State Services (DSS), James Simon, told the court that Abbas admitted he was recruited to spy on American and Israeli interests in Nigeria, particularly their embassies.
Simon, who testified as the first prosecution witness, said he personally recorded Abbas’ statement, in which the defendant detailed how he gathered intelligence, passed information, and recruited other Nigerians into the operation.
According to the witness, Abbas also revealed that he travelled to Iran, where he and others were trained by unidentified military personnel. The training, the court heard, covered surveillance, counter-surveillance, intelligence gathering, recruitment, communication, and a brief session on weapon handling.
He told the court that the nature of such training and assignments clearly points to terrorism, regardless of whether those involved are formally designated.
“The act of involvement of non-military personnel in surveillance, recruitment of persons and even weapon handling amounts to the act of terrorism,” the witness said.
