A witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that the individuals on trial over the June 5, 2022, killings at were financially supported, equipped with weapons, and mobilised prior to executing the attack.
The witness, identified only as SSI for security reasons, testified before Justice Emeka Nwite that he headed the DSS counter-terrorism probe into the incident.
The DSS is prosecuting five defendants — Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar — on a nine-count charge.
While being led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Ayodeji Adedipe, the witness said his unit was tasked with uncovering those responsible for the assault, their sponsors, and the circumstances surrounding the attack, which claimed more than 40 lives and left over 100 others injured.
“With that, we proceeded to gather intelligence and also exploited technical resources, which eventually led us to the arrest of five persons in the month of August 2022,” he said.
He explained that arrests were made in Kogi and Ondo states, naming the suspects apprehended. Investigations, he added, indicated that the defendants were members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), described as a banned terrorist group operating in parts of Kogi and Ondo states under a coordinator identified as Odoba.
According to the witness, a meeting allegedly took place on May 30, 2022, at Government Secondary School, Ogaminana, where instructions were said to have been issued to attack the Catholic Church in Owo.
“So, on the 30 of May, 2022, they met at the Government Secondary School, Ogaminana, where Al-Qasim Idris was present in the meeting and Odoba passed the instruction for them to prepare to attack the Catholic Church Owo,” he said.
“And his instruction was clear that they should attack on Sunday and ensure that they kill the priest.”
The court heard that additional meetings were later held in Omilafia to finalise preparations. The witness alleged that Abdulhaleem Idris travelled to Adavi on June 4 to secure a vehicle and received firearms and explosive devices from Odoba.
“He proceeded to lead Odoba, who supported them with five AK47 rifles, 10 magazines, rounds of ammunition and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for the planned attack,” he said.
The group was said to have conducted a rehearsal without live ammunition before spending the night together ahead of the operation.
“The next morning, the 5th of June, the 1st to 4th defendants and Kabir, now at large, were driven in the Golf car, with the weapons concealed in sacks, to the church about 8 to 8:30 am,” the witness said.
“They got to the church, removed the sacks and pulled out their weapons.”
The witness told the court that the assailants began shooting and detonating explosive devices inside and around the church premises.
“They shot sporadically in the church’s sanctuary, outside and all over, including worshippers trying to escape,” he said.
“Abdulhaleem, who had the bag containing IEDs, detonated at least three explosives. Other attackers engaged the worshippers with gunshots.
“Forty people, including women and children, died at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC). 23 were wounded and rushed to the hospital.”
The prosecution submitted a medical report, 30 photographs from the scene, and a comprehensive investigation report, all admitted without objection.
On the alleged involvement of the fifth defendant, the witness said investigations showed he operated multiple point-of-sale outlets and received N800,000 in two instalments weeks before the incident.
“About two to three weeks prior to the attack, his account was credited at two different instances with N800,000,” the witness said.
“He used the POS machine to distribute the money to the individuals, who are members of the Al-Shabab Unit of ISWAP, and the defendants were beneficiaries of this money, with no evidence of business transactions between them.”
The witness further stated that technical findings revealed communication between the fifth defendant and the other accused persons around the time of the attack.
Defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammad did not oppose the admission of the investigation report but requested time to review it before beginning cross-examination.
Justice Nwite adjourned proceedings until February 18 for continuation of the trial.