The third defendant in the trial over the 2022 Owo church massacre, Jamiu Abdulmalik, has said he is unaware of a fundamental rights enforcement suit allegedly filed in his name by his lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammed.
Abdulmalik made the statement on Thursday during cross-examination at the federal high court in Abuja, where he was questioned by Ayodeji Adedeji, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS).
During the proceedings, Adedeji presented a fundamental rights suit filed in December 2024 and sought to tender it as evidence.
Although Abdulmalik acknowledged that his name appeared as the third applicant in the suit, he distanced himself from it, insisting he had no knowledge of the filing.
He told the court that no one contacted him in 2024 regarding the case, a position that appeared to contradict details contained in the supporting affidavit.
Abdulmalik maintained that his testimony was based solely on his personal knowledge, stressing that he neither authorised nor took part in initiating the legal action.
He further stated that neither his lawyer nor any other person informed him about the existence of the suit.
The court subsequently admitted the fundamental rights application as exhibit V.
Abdulmalik is being tried alongside Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.
They are facing prosecution by the DSS over the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo on June 5, 2022, which resulted in the death of 41 worshippers and left more than 140 others injured.