DSS Witness Identifies Two Defendants as Attackers of Owo Catholic Church

A Department of State Services (DSS) witness on Tuesday told a court that he identified two of the five men standing trial over the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, as participants in the deadly assault.The witness, the second prosecution witness (PW2), whose identity was protected for security reasons, said he was a member of the church and was present during the attack. While testifying, he identified Al Qasim Idris, the second defendant, and Abdulhaleem Idris, the fourth defendant, as among those who carried out the attack.PW2, identified in court as SSB, gave a detailed account of how the incident unfolded and described the extent of damage caused to both worshippers and the church building.The DSS is prosecuting five suspects over the attack, which claimed several lives and left many others injured. The defendants are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47).Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Adedayo Adedipe (SAN), the witness told the court that the attack occurred on a Sunday when the church was concluding its mass held to commemorate the Feast of Pentecost.According to him, worshippers were preparing to leave when the attackers struck, throwing the congregation into panic and chaos. He narrated how parishioners attempted to flee for safety amid gunshots and explosions, resulting in multiple casualties and extensive destruction within the church premises.

He said “We were having our normal mass in the church, just about the time the church was closing, we heard a gun shot outside the church compound. So, we were wondering what was happening.

“We heard another gun shot at the gate, then there was pandemonium in the church. Everybody was running helter skelter and asking what was happening.

“Then we started hearing sporadic shooting inside the church compound. Then, one of the MOD (Men of Order and Defence) of the church ran towards the church and shouted, ‘lock the door, lock the door.’ Then, those by the door tried to lock the door.

“Then, we heard some sound at the door. And then, we started hearing foot steps of people running towards the other entrance of the church. They were shooting as well.

“In a matter of seconds, I saw one man holding a gun. He looked at the church, up and down, then he used his hand to beckon on someone behind him to come forward,” the witness said.

When asked if he could recognise the man who was holding a gun and beckoning on another of the attackers to come forward, the witness said he could.

When asked to tell the court if the person was among the defendants, the witness pointed at the second defendant (Al Qasim Idris).

When the witness resumed his testimony, he gave further details of how the attack went and identified the fourth defendant (Abdulhaleem Idris) as one of the attackers.

The witness said: “At that time, another man emerged with gun and started shooting at the choir gallery, while the first person, that beckoned on the second person, started shooting at the people at the lector’s seat.

“So, as they were doing that, later we heard a sound of explosive, there was the second explosive again and the third one. At that time when I heard the third explosive, I became very afraid and fell on my face to the ground. Then, I heard the fourth explosive.

“Then, I raised up my eyes, I now saw three people. The third one was black in complexion and putting a bag across his shoulder.He now examined the church by looking at us. And, hoping that everybody has been killed, he now made a sign as if to say, let us go. From then, we did not hear any gun shot again,” the witness said.

When asked by Adedipe if he could recognise any of the two attackers beside the second defendant, the witness said yes.

He again moved closer to the defendants in the dock and said: “The person, who threw the explosives, I cannot identify. But, the person, who was beckoned at and the one who carried the bag when they were about going I can identify them.”

He then identified the fourth defendant (Abdulhaleem Idris) as the one who carried the bag while the attackers were about leaving the church premises after the attack.

The witness however, said he could not identify the person, who joined the second defendant in shooting, among the defendants.

He said after the attackers left the church premises, himself and other church members waited for some minutes after which he raised his head when he could no longer hear any gun shot.

The witness added: “I now raised up my head again and saw two people standing up and trying to run away from the church. The two people who were trying to run away from the church were members of the church.”

He said when he stood up, he jumped through the window by his side, adding that when he landed outside he saw the dead body of a woman beside a car and another dead body of a man, beside the fence, near the Oba’s palace.

When asked the number of those killed in the attack, the witness said it was more than 40 while many others were injured.

He said: “Apart from the people that died, there were other many casualties. By the time I came back from the hospital, in the afternoon of that day, the whole hospital was filled up with casualties of the attack, among whom were people, whose legs were amputated.

“After the day of the incident, I visited the church on the second day. The church was badly damaged as a result of the explosions and gun shots. And the whole church was filled up with blood everywhere.”

The witness said he was invited by the DSS to its Akure office in Ondo State during investigation into the incident where he made a statement, a copy of which he identified when Adedipe showed it to him.

The court later admitted it in evidence.

Under cross-examination by Muhammad, the witness said the first prosecution witness in the case was a priest of the church who officiated on the day of the attack.

The witness, who said he normally sits around the second row in the church, told the court that out of the four doors in the church building, only the main one was locked. He said the person, who first came in with gun came in from the door beside the choir stand.

The third prosecution witness, a female, who was labelled ‘SSC,’ with her actual identity shielded by the court, gave details of how she escaped with injuries to her left leg.

The witness, who said she was also in church during the attack, said she was confused and did not immediately know what to do when she heard the first round of gun shots.

Led in evidence by Adedipe, the witness said: “I was confused and did not know what was happening until an old woman sitting beside me was killed.

“I was still confused and sat down when the choir president came from the choir gallery and grab me up and we ran towards the altar. At the altar, I met brother Chinedu Ojukwu, who helped me to lie down on the floor.

“And, we were all lying down when the unknown gunmen climbed to the altar and asked us, ‘do you know why we are doing this?’ I raised up my head and looked at him. I did not see him because of the fear in me. But, he thought I saw him and he said, ‘you that are looking at me, you will die immediately.’ And he dropped the dynamite beside my head and he left.

“Brother Chinedu was the one who asked me to shift and while sighting, I never knew that my left leg was not yet removed from the dynamite and the dynamite exploded and my left leg was damaged with wounds,” she said.

When asked if she has any evidence to show to the court that her left leg was damaged, she walked off the witness box and showed the court her left leg which was damaged as a result of the explosive device that she said was dropped by one of the attackers beside her inside the church hall.

The witness added: “While I was being taken to the hospital, I met my younger cousin brother dead. He was just two years. He was shot at the back of his head

“There after, I was rushed to the hospital by the Reverend Father, brother Chinedu and Chucks. When I got to the hospital, I met our CYON President and I asked about my mother and my siblings from him and he said they are fine.

“I was still anxious to see my mother and some minutes later, my mother arrived at the hospital. She could not recognise me because of the injury and the dust from the dynamite made me dark.

“She could only recognise me with my clothes. She finally met me and asked her colleagues to come and assist me. And my father bought everything needed for the treatment that day,” the witness said.

On what the medical personnel who attended to her did to keep the wounds on her leg at the state it currently is, the witness said the affected leg was operated on four times. She said she was also skin grafted to cover the open wounds, adding that presently, there is an iron inside the leg.

The witness, who said she is still on medication, told the court that she made statement on May 26, 2024 when she was invited to the DSS office in Akure.

She said 41 people died instantly from the attack, while about 100 and something others were injured.

Under cross-examination by Mohammad, the witness said she came about the number of those killed in the attack from the figure printed on an obituary magazine that was printed on the day of their burial, which stated that 41 people died.

Further hearing in the case continues on January 14 at 12noon.