Another DSS witness identifies suspected terrorist in Owo Catholic Church attack 

A witness of the Department of State Services, DSS, in the ongoing trial of four men accused of masterminding the June 5, 2022 attack on St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, on Tuesday identified one of the defendants as part of the actual attackers.

The witness, who said he is a member of the Ondo State Security Network (Amotekun), told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he was able to identify the second defendant, Al Qasim Idris, because they exchanged gunfire at close range.

This is the second time since the trial began that a prosecution witness has identified some of the defendants as the attackers.

The second prosecution witness, identified as “SSB,” who said he is a member of the church and was present during the attack, had earlier testified on January 13 that he saw Al Qasim Idris (second defendant) and Abdulhaleem Idris (fourth defendant) among the attackers.

The Department of State Services is prosecuting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) over the June 5, 2022 attack on the church.

Led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), the seventh prosecution witness (PW7), identified as “SSG,” told the court that he was alerted to the attack by his state commander and ordered to move to the church with his team.

The witness said that upon arrival at the church, he saw blood everywhere and corpses of children, men, and women on the floor, including inside the church hall. He said he counted about 35 corpses.

PW7 stated that he and his team were informed that the attackers had just left the church in a Nissan Sunny vehicle and headed in a particular direction.

He said: “We learnt the attackers moved towards Achievers University along Ute Road. I pursued them with my men in our patrol vehicle.

“When we got to Ijegunman Village, immediately they saw us, they ran into the bush. They were four in number.

“As they ran into the bush, they abandoned the vehicle by the roadside in Ijegunman, Ute. I searched the vehicle and saw a pack of sachet water.

“The vehicle is blue in colour, with registration number AKR 895 AG, a Nissan Sunny. I sent two of my men to drive the vehicle to the Amotekun office in Owo,” he said.

SSG told the court that he and a hunter working with his team pursued the fleeing attackers into the bush and later encountered them at a hideout.

The witness said the attackers, each armed with an AK-47 rifle, began shooting at them, prompting him to respond with his pump-action gun.

He said that during the exchange of gunfire, three of the attackers ran deeper into the bush, while one hid behind a tree and aimed at him with his AK-47 rifle but succeeded in killing the hunter who was behind him.

The witness said he saw the man who shot and killed the hunter at close range and could identify him, even though the incident occurred about four years ago.

At that point, Adedipe applied to the court to allow the witness to move closer to the dock to identify the attacker. The defence lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammad, did not oppose the application.

With the permission of the judge, the witness stepped out of the witness box, moved closer to the dock, and pointed at the second defendant, Al Qasim Idris.

The witness said that on the second day, June 6, 2022, he took photographs of the recovered vehicle before transferring it to the Amotekun office.

SSG said he used his Samsung Galaxy A12 phone to take pictures of the vehicle. He identified the photographs when shown by the prosecuting lawyer, after which they were tendered and admitted in evidence.

He added that he later transferred both his report and the vehicle to the Amotekun state headquarters.

Under cross-examination by Mohammad, the witness was asked to reconfirm the person he saw. He again moved closer to the dock and pointed at the second defendant.

When asked why he did not arrest the second defendant when the others fled, the witness said he could not do so because the suspect was armed with an AK-47 rifle, which was more powerful than his pump-action gun.

The witness, who said he is an Assistant Commander in Amotekun, added that he was unsure whether the other three suspects were hiding nearby and could return to attack him.

PW7 said the second defendant was later arrested through the collaborative efforts of all security agencies in Ondo State.

On the whereabouts of the recovered vehicle, he said it is at the Amotekun headquarters where he handed it over to his superior, adding that only his boss could confirm whether investigations were conducted to identify the vehicle’s owner.

Earlier, the sixth prosecution witness (PW6), identified as “SSF,” described himself as a pathologist who conducted autopsies on the victims of the church attack.

A certified true copy (CTC) of the autopsy report was tendered by the prosecution and admitted in evidence without objection from the defence.

The witness identified names listed in the autopsy report, including Ajanaku John Adesina (body number nine on page 11 of 35), John Bosede (body number 17 on page 18 of 35), Onileke Ester Ilerioluwa (body number 13 on page 14 of 35), and Onuoha Deborah (body number four on page 29 of 35).

On the cause of death, the witness said: “Generally, all the bodies bore gunshot injuries caused by bullets fired from varying distances, leading to organ rupture and skeletal damage, resulting in massive bleeding and exsanguination.”

Another DSS witness identifies suspected terrorist in Owo Catholic Church attack