Owo Church Massacre: Defendants have link with foreign terrorist groups, SSS tells court

The State Security Service (SSS) has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja not to grant bail to five men facing trial over the June 2022 attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.

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SSS opposed the bail on the grounds of alleged link of the defendants with foreign terrorist groups.

The agency, Nigeria’s foremost intelligence organisation, made this call in a counter-affidavit filed in opposition to the defendants’ bail application.

The secret police body said with the defendants’ alleged antecedent and propensity for violence, they can interfere with prosecution’s witnesses if granted bail.

“There is a very high likelihood of defendants evading trial in view of their connection to foreign fighters linked to Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

“The defendants’ accomplices are still at large and have been making frantic efforts to monitor their trial, intimidate witnesses and free the defendants from lawful custody,” the affidavit read.

Charged with five counts of terrorism, the defendants were arraigned on August 11 before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the 5 June 2022 terror attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo State,

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The attack left over 40 worshippers dead while over 100 others sustained injuries.

The defendants, who all pleaded not guilty to the charges are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25 years), Al Qasim Idris 20 years), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26 years), Abdulhaleem Idris (25 years) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47 years).

Accomplices on the loose

Opposing the defendants’ bail applications, SSS stated in its counter-affidavit that apart from their connection to foreign fighters linked to Al-Shabab terrorist group, the defendants’ accomplices are still at large.

The agency said the accomplices on the loose “have been making frantic efforts to monitor their trial, intimidate witnesses and free the defendants from lawful custody.”

SSS also said it was “currently investigating the leads with a view to apprehending those individuals, planning to intimidate witnesses and compromise the trial in the interest of the applicants.

“The prosecution witnesses have expressed fears of attacks by defendants’ cohorts and have stated that they will not attend court sessions except their fears were allayed.

“This necessitated the filing of an ex-parte application for witness protection.

“The prosecution has demonstrated readiness for speedy trial of the substantive charge. That defendants have not presented any evidence to show that they have credible sureties.

“It will not be in the interest of justice and security of prosecution witnesses to grant the application for bail,” the agency added.

Hearing

On Tuesday, defence lawyer Abdullahi Mohammad moved the defendants’ bail applications, affirming their readiness to face trial.

He said the defendants had been in custody since their arrest in 2022 and were ready to present reliable sureties and stand trial.

But prosecuting lawyer, Calistus Eze, urged the court to reject the bail request.

He described it as unmeritorious and alleged that, aside from the defendants’ link to foreign terrorists, there are ongoing threats to potential witnesses, which he claimed the defence was aware of.

The prosecution lawyer also said the defendants failed to provide evidence of having credible sureties to present, adding that their release would jeopardise the safety of witnesses.

After hearing arguments, the judge, Emeka Nwite, fixed 10 September for ruling.

Court to shield witnesses

Before the adjournment of hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution applied to the court to allow the shielding of witnesses’ identities.

The prosecution also urged the court to permit the witnesses to testify hooded, and bar the mention of their real names in court records accessible to the public. It further sought an order that witnesses be identified only with combinations of letters.

Defence lawyer, Mr Mohammad, did not object to the witness protection application.

The judge, Mr Nwite granted the application.

Ayodeji Adedipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who took over from Mr Eze to lead the prosecution team on Tuesday, sought an adjournment to obtain a fiat from the Attorney-General of the Federation allowing the SSS to proceed with the prosecution of the case.

Two other lawyers, Edward Ogar and Vincent Adodo, who held a watching brief for the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, were also present in court.

Background

In June 2022, terror struck St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, with gunmen armed with explosives storming the parish during Mass.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as worshippers were trapped inside and gunned down.

Police and hospital records indicated that more than 70 people were killed, including children, while scores of others were injured.

READ ALSO: Owo Church Killings: Court remands five suspects in SSS custody

The massacre drew global condemnation. The United Nations, European Union and the United Kingdom denounced the killings, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling it a “heinous attack” and the EU’s Josep Borrell insisting that such violence had become intolerable.

Federal authorities later attributed the attack to suspected ISWAP members, and Investigations led to a string of arrests of some suspects during that period.

In August 2025, more than three years after the massacre, the Federal High Court in Abuja arraigned the five suspects that recently applied for bail. The defendants pleaded not guilty and have remained in DSS custody.