Priest narrates 2022 Owo church bombing in court

Remains of the victims of the St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, massacre at the funeral mass in June 22.

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The trial of the suspects linked to the June 5, 2022, terror attack on the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, resumed on Thursday, with the presiding priest recounting before the Federal High Court, Abuja, how the assault unfolded.

The witness, a Catholic priest identified in court as ‘SSA’ for security reasons, testified behind a screen.

The defendants are Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Abubakar (47).

They are being prosecuted by the Department of State Services on nine counts of terrorism before Justice Emeka Nwite.

Led in evidence by DSS counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), the priest narrated how the attack left over 40 worshippers dead and more than 100 others injured.

He recalled that the attack occurred towards the end of the First Pentecost Sunday Mass, which had drawn a large congregation.

As the service neared completion and the recessional hymn began, he said a loud explosion suddenly shattered the worshippers’ calm, followed by sporadic gunfire.

Giving evidence-in-chief, the witness said he was in the restroom with some children when the first, second and third explosions went off.

He described June 5, 2022, as “a memorable day in his life,” telling the court:“This is so because it was the day when the violent attack was launched on us — myself and all the worshiping community of St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.

It was an incident that led to the death of over 40 persons among us, while some of us became maimed; some of us, till this point, have permanent physical injuries. I recall that the attack was towards the end of the worship that day.”

He said he was performing the last rites and the congregation had begun singing the recessional hymn when he heard a loud sound.

Facing the congregation, he initially thought, “somebody had fallen,” but then saw two men from the community quickly locking the main entrance. An elder rushed to him and said, “Father, we are under attack.”

“From this point, I heard the sporadic shooting of guns. This was still outside the church. This elder told me, ‘Father, you have to leave.’ At first, I was reluctant to leave the sanctuary… at least because of those children who call me Father.”

He said he and some adults immediately tried to move the children to safety.

“Taking my leave from the sanctuary, I and some adults moved some of these children into a safe place; this is an attachment to the church. When I was in this place, I continued to hear the continuous shooting of guns and the use of about three explosives.

The third explosive landed very close to the safe place where I was with the children, with the effect which looked like the opening of the ground… like the ground opening to swallow us immediately.”

He said the assault continued until some members ran to inform them that the attackers had left.

When he came out, he saw injured and dead worshippers and immediately began coordinating evacuation to the hospital.

“Moving out with the children, I saw my choir master shot at the chest. He called me to pray for him. I did, but I told him I have to move him to the hospital. When I got out, I saw some already dead on the floor. So, I shouted that if there is any of us who could still drive, let us begin to move our brothers and sisters to the hospital.”

During cross-examination, he told the court he did not count the dead because of the chaos.

“It was with that violent attack that I understood that proverb that says, ‘the one struck or hit by a vehicle does not wait to take note of the vehicle’s number plate.’ So, I could not immediately count the number of those dead.”

He said he personally made two trips to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo to transport casualties, noting that by his second visit:

“The emergency ward was filled up with these casualties… those that were killed and injured. With the wailing, weeping and crying from people, I couldn’t even drive again. The care and healing of those injured continued.”

The priest added that he later made a statement at the DSS office in Akure.

Responding to questions from defence lawyer Abdullahi Mohammad, he said he did not know the number of attackers:

“With the commotion in the church, and my desire to rescue especially the children as quickly as possible, I could not and I did not identify or recognise those who carried out the attack. Therefore, I don’t know their number.”

He explained that the children were by the sanctuary when the attack began and he moved them into the attached restroom.

Earlier, the prosecutor informed the court that the charge had been amended to correct minor errors. The amended charge was read to the defendants, who all pleaded not guilty.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to January 13 and 14, 2026, for continuation of hearing.

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