ABUJA, NIGERIA — Shocking details emerged at the Federal High Court in Abuja as a Department of State Services (DSS) operative revealed how a Benue community youth leader, Silas Oloche, systematically gathered military-grade weaponry to launch a massive retaliation campaign against Fulani herders.
Oloche, the youth leader of the perennially attacked Agatu Local Government Area, is facing a six-count charge bordering on the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. The prosecution’s star witness, an anonymous DSS operative codenamed “XX,” presented a chilling inventory of explosives and ammunition seized directly from the defendant’s home during a raid on August 2, 2025, in Ogbasi, Agatu.
The Seized Arsenal
According to evidence admitted by the court, the DSS recovered a substantial cache of warfare materials from the community leader, including:
- 18 Hand Grenades: High-explosive military ordnance meant for mass casualties.
- 683 Rounds: 7.62 x 39mm ammunition, standard rounds typically used in AK-47 assault rifles.
- 62 Rounds: Heavy-duty 7.62 x 51mm ammunition, standard for military battle rifles.
- 136 Live Rounds: Shotgun ammunition used for close-range defense and combat.
Financed by Grieving Displaced Villagers
During the trial, the prosecution played an audio-visual recording of Oloche’s extra-judicial interrogation. In the footage, the defendant did not deny acquiring the weapons. Instead, he painted a harrowing picture of a community completely abandoned by the Nigerian state.
Oloche narrated that the Agatu bloodletting dates back to 2013, with nomadic herders repeatedly destroying farmlands, burning villages, and killing locals. Despite numerous peace pacts involving traditional rulers, governors, and security agencies across Kogi, Benue, and Nasarawa states, the herders routinely ignored agreements to vacate occupied lands.
Driven to utter frustration by the lack of federal security intervention, displaced villagers and grieving families who had spent years retrieving the mutilated bodies of their loved ones began contributing money to a self-defense fund. Oloche admitted he used over ₦2 million of these community-contributed funds to purchase the ammunition from a black-market arms dealer identified only as “Chocho.” He noted that the community was still searching for the actual guns to match the ammunition when the DSS arrested him.
Allegations of Torture Spark Legal Battle
The trial took a dramatic turn when the defense counsel, Noah Imoni, fiercely objected to the admissibility of Oloche’s written confession. Imoni told the court that his client can neither read nor write, and argued that the statement was written entirely by the DSS after the defendant was severely beaten, tortured, and traumatized during interrogation.
The defense also cast serious doubt on the integrity of a Legal Aid counsel whom the DSS claimed was present during the questioning.
In response to the allegations of state-sponsored torture, the trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmaliki, halted the main trial and ordered an immediate trial-within-trial to judicially determine if the confession was forced out of the defendant through violence.
