A Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos on Tuesday granted leave to four persons standing trial over the deadly Angwa Rukuba attacks to each call five defence witnesses.
The suspects are facing prosecution over the Palm Sunday 2026 attack on Angwa Rukuba in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, where about 30 persons were reportedly killed by gunmen.
Following the incident, the Department of State Services arrested Isa Umar Ibrahim, Auwalu Abubakar, also known as Auwalu Dogo, and Musa Abubakar Ibrahim, also known as Yaroro.
The Plateau State Government subsequently charged the three suspects alongside one Ado Ibrahim, who is currently at large, with criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, illegal possession of firearms, and unlawful dealing in arms and ammunition.
Ruling during a case management conference, Justice Gedaliah Fwomyon granted the request by the defendants to produce five witnesses each in their defence.
The judge also reiterated the court’s commitment to accelerated hearing of the case, stating that two full days would be dedicated to the testimonies of each defendant’s witnesses.
Justice Fwomyon further ruled that the prosecution had sufficiently answered the questions contained in the case management information sheet and would rely on the statements of evidence already before the court, including those of the defendants and their witnesses.
The court also ruled that the defendants would be allowed to make use of interpreters either provided by themselves or by the court.
In addition, the defendants were granted the right to challenge the admissibility of their statements and to invite expert witnesses during the trial.
However, the judge held that no party would be permitted to raise fresh interlocutory applications in the matter except those already filed and adopted before the court, noting that such applications would only be entertained under exceptional circumstances.
The matter was adjourned to July 1 and 2, 2026, for hearing of the substantive case, provided the defendants do not challenge the jurisdiction of the court.
The court further ordered that the suspects remain in the custody of the DSS pending the next adjourned date.
Recall that Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently approved a ₦2 billion relief package for victims of the Angwa Rukuba attacks and pledged that those responsible for the killings would be brought to justice.