Owo Church Atttack: Witness Further Implicates Second Defendant, Al Quasim

Linus Aleke in Abuja

Proceedings continued on Wednesday in the trial of five men accused of carrying out the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, as the eighth prosecution witness further implicated the second defendant, Al Quasim Idris.

Testifying before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the witness—an operative of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun—corroborated the account given a day earlier by the seventh prosecution witness.

Like the previous witness, he identified Al Quasim Idris as one of the alleged attackers.

The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Quasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) over the deadly assault on worshippers at the church.

Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), the eighth prosecution witness (PW8), identified in court as SSH, recounted how he and his team responded to distress calls on the day of the incident.

According to him, they were on an anti-kidnapping operation on 5 June 2022 when they received a call from the anti-kidnapping squad about an attack at St. Francis Church, Owo.

They were subsequently instructed to withdraw from their initial mission and proceed to the church.“On getting to the church, we met a crowd and managed to enter the premises,” he told the court. “We saw several dead bodies on the floor, both inside and around the church, including injured women and children.”

He said they later learnt that the attackers were four in number and had fled in a blue Nissan vehicle as security operatives arrived at the scene.

Acting on that information, his team pursued the suspects along Ute Road.“We were able to get close to them because our vehicle was better than the one they were in,” he said.

The witness told the court that at a point during the pursuit, the suspects abruptly parked their vehicle and fled into a nearby bush.

One Amotekun operative and a volunteer hunter gave chase, while others took strategic positions.It was during the ensuing gun battle in the bush, he said, that he sighted and recognised Al Quasim Idris as one of the men exchanging fire with them at close range.

However, he added that the assailants fatally shot the volunteer hunter during the confrontation.“We were later able to return to the bush and retrieve the hunter’s body,” he stated.

The witness further explained that the abandoned Nissan vehicle was taken to their office and later moved to the state headquarters in Akure.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Abdullahi Mohammad, he said he could not recall how many officers retrieved the hunter’s body from the bush.

On the ownership of the Nissan vehicle, the witness said that before it was transferred to the state headquarters, an individual came forward at their office claiming to be the owner.

Although the vehicle owner was interviewed, the witness clarified that he was not among the officers who conducted the interview.

At the close of proceedings, prosecuting counsel sought a three-day consecutive adjournment to enable the prosecution to call its remaining witnesses and conclude its case.

The defence did not object to the request.

Justice Emeka Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until 24, 25 and 26 March for continuation of trial.