A Department of State Services (DSS) operative on Tuesday told a Federal High Court in Abuja how suspects accused of carrying out the 2022 Owo church massacre were allegedly funded, armed, and mobilised in the days leading up to the attack.
Testifying as a prosecution witness, the operative—identified only as SSI for security reasons—said he led the counter-terrorism investigation into the June 5 assault on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, which left over 40 worshippers dead and more than 100 injured.
The DSS is prosecuting five men—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—on a nine-count charge bordering on terrorism and related offences.
Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Ayodeji Adedipe, the witness told Emeka Nwite that intelligence gathering and technical surveillance led to the suspects’ arrest in August 2022 across Kogi and Ondo states.
According to the operative, investigations revealed that the defendants were members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a proscribed extremist organisation allegedly operating in parts of Kogi and Ondo states under a coordinator identified as Odoba.
He testified that a meeting was held on May 30, 2022, at Government Secondary School Ogaminana, where instructions were allegedly issued to attack the Catholic church in Owo.
“The directive was that the attack should take place on a Sunday,” the witness said, adding that further preparatory meetings were later held in Omilafia.
The court heard that on June 4, 2022, one of the defendants allegedly travelled to Adavi to hire a vehicle and subsequently received weapons, including five AK-47 rifles, magazines, ammunition, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The group reportedly conducted a rehearsal before spending the night together ahead of the operation.
On the morning of June 5, the suspects allegedly travelled to the church in a hired Volkswagen Golf, with weapons concealed in sacks. Upon arrival, they were said to have opened fire and detonated explosives.
“They shot within and outside the church premises, including at worshippers attempting to flee,” the witness testified, adding that many of the victims later died at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.
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