DSS operative tells court how suspect behind Abuja school threat messages was tracked and arrested

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday heard how operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) tracked and arrested a man accused of sending threatening messages to some elite schools in the capital.
An operative of the DSS, Michael Jego, told the court that the agency received petitions from three schools in 2024 regarding text messages sent from certain phone numbers, threatening to kill students and teachers and destroy school property.

Jego testified as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the ongoing trial of John Jude Agbo. He said a Tecno Android phone allegedly used by the defendant to send the messages was recovered.
Agbo, who was arraigned on March 17 on a two-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/06/2026, is being prosecuted by the DSS under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
According to a case summary filed by the DSS, the defendant is standing trial for allegedly using multiple GSM numbers to send SMS messages to schools in Abuja. The schools listed include Premier International School, The Regent Secondary School, and Oakland International British School.
The prosecution stated that the messages contained threats to attack the schools and kill both students and teachers, claiming the act could be carried out in less than a minute.
The DSS said the alleged actions contravene Section 24(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and Section 18(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Dr. Calistus Eze, Jego explained that his team began investigating a petition from Oakland International British School dated November 28, 2024. During the investigation, forensic tools were deployed, leading to the arrest of the defendant in Otukpo. A mobile phone and SIM card were recovered from him.
The witness further stated that Agbo was brought to Abuja, where he was interviewed and voluntarily made a statement in the presence of a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria.
Items presented in court by the prosecution included the recovered Tecno phone, petitions from the schools, a compact disc containing audio-visual recordings of the defendant’s interview, and his extra-judicial statement. The court admitted all the exhibits without objection from defence counsel, Hamza Dantani.
Although the defendant acknowledged familiarity with the phone, he denied ownership.
Under cross-examination, Jego said the complaints received from the schools did not initially include the defendant’s name. He added that the phone numbers and text messages were provided by the petitioners, and he could not independently confirm ownership of the numbers. However, he noted that the defendant admitted being among those who composed the messages.
He also stated that the defendant was arrested with the phone in his possession and admitted involvement in sending the threatening messages.
At the end of the cross-examination, the prosecution requested an adjournment to present additional witnesses and evidence, which the defence did not oppose.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the case to May 12 for continuation of the trial.