Terror Suspects Admit Spying on US, Israeli Embassies for Iran — DSS Tells Court

The Federal High Court in Abuja has heard testimony that three defendants on trial for alleged espionage admitted to monitoring United States and Israeli interests in Nigeria on behalf of individuals linked to Iran.

The defendants — Haruna Abbas, Ibrahim Musa, and Adam Suleiman — are standing trial over allegations that they gathered intelligence on foreign diplomatic and commercial targets in Nigeria after being recruited and trained abroad.

At Wednesday’s sitting, a Department of State Services (DSS) operative, James Simon, told the court that Abbas made statements acknowledging his involvement in surveillance activities directed at US and Israeli embassies.

Simon, who testified as the first prosecution witness, said Abbas described how he was recruited, trained, and later assigned intelligence-related tasks, including monitoring embassy locations and collecting information on related entities.

According to the witness, the statement attributed to Abbas also indicated that he participated in recruiting others for similar training and operations.

The court was told that the training allegedly involved instruction in surveillance, counter-surveillance, information handling, open-source intelligence, and basic weapons handling. Simon said Abbas claimed the training was conducted by individuals he identified as Iranian military personnel, although their identities were not known to him.

Reading from the statement, the DSS witness said Abbas explained that his assignments included gathering and transmitting information about US and Israeli diplomatic facilities and related businesses. He also said he was instructed to identify and send details of selected individuals for further training outside Nigeria.

Simon further told the court that Abbas said he was tasked with continuing intelligence-gathering activities after returning to Nigeria, including compiling open-source information.

Under cross-examination, the witness maintained that the activities described — involving surveillance, recruitment, and weapons-related instruction — amounted to terrorism-related conduct in context, even where formal organizational designation was not established.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted an application for accelerated hearing of the case, noting that the request by the prosecution was not opposed by the defence.

The court adjourned proceedings to April 1 for continuation of hearing.