UPDATED: Witness relives Owo church massacre, identifies two suspected assailants in court

A prosecution witness, on Tuesday, relived the horror of the deadly June 2022 terrorist attack on St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, in which more than 40 worshippers were killed and dozens injured.

The witness, who recounted the hour-long tragic incident before the Federal High Court in Abuja, identified two of the suspected assailants out of the five men that are being prosecuted on terrorism charges over the massacre.

The second prosecution witness, who said he was present at the church when the gunmen stormed in, pointed at Al Qasim Idris (20 years old) and Abdulhaleem Idris (25 years old), and maintained that they were among those who carried out the attack.

The rest of the defendants are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25 years), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26 years), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47 years).

The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is prosecuting the five defendants on terrorism charges over their alleged involvement in the June 2022 killings.

The witness, who testified with a codename SSB adopted as part of the witness protection measure approved by the court, described himself as a retiree living at Isuaga Owo.

Led in evidence by prosecution lawyer Ayodeji Adedipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SSB said gunshots were first heard outside the church at about 10 a.m.

He recalled that a member of the church’s Men of Order asked that the main door to be locked when the gunshots began to rang out outside. He those that were close to the door complied.

But he said the assailants came into the church through the side doors, firing at the choir stand and the lectors’ (members of the congregation who are assigned to read scriptures) seats.

He told the court that after some worshippers had fled in panic and others were hiding under the seats, he saw a man holding a gun who looked around the church and beckoned to someone behind him.

“At that time, another man emerged with a gun and started shooting at the choir. The first person beckoned, and the second began shooting at the lectors’ seats. Then I heard a series of explosions, three in total. The third one made me fall to the ground,” the witness said.

He continued, “Raising my eyes a few seconds later, I saw three people, including one carrying a bag across his shoulder.

“He made a sign as if telling the others ‘let’s go,’ and then the shooting stopped.”

Recognition drama

The prosecution lawyer asked the witness if he could recognise the individual who beckoned on the other person.

Responding, the witness said, “Yes, my lord, I will be able to recognise him.”

He then said, “That person in the middle.” The court confirmed it was the fifth defendant.

But the witness later pointed at someone else, this time, identifying the second defendant, Al Qasim Idris, after the prosecution asked him to remove his face mask and the judge directed the witness to move closer for a clearer view.

The defence lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammed, raised an objection, arguing the witness could not be allowed to point to a different person alter his initial identification.

The prosecution disagreed, saying the trial’s purpose was to uncover the truth and that the second defendant’s mask had tainted the first identification.

Ruling on the objection, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, urged both sides not to waste time and advised the defence to focus on discrediting the witness’s testimony during cross-examination rather than arguing over who was first identified.

He said he could not identify the person who threw the explosives or the one who was beckoned, but he identified “Abdulhaleem Idris, the fourth defendant, as the man carrying the bag.”

Escape

Describing the aftermath, he said: “After they left, we waited a few minutes. When there were no more gunshots, I raised my head and saw two other victims trying to run out of the church.

“I jumped through a window and saw the dead body of a woman beside a car, and another man’s body by the fence. The number of dead exceeded 40, and the hospital was soon filled with the injured.” the witness narrated.

The witness told the court he returned to the church the following day and saw that it was badly damaged. “The whole church was filled with blood everywhere,” he said.

When SSB told the court that he saw a man holding a gun who looked around the church and beckoned to someone behind him.

During cross-examination, the witness said the Pentecost Mass began at 8 a.m., and the attack occurred between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The church was full, with only the main door locked by the time the gunmen entered. He said he saw the assailants enter through a side door near the choir stand and witnessed the explosions. He said the attack damaged the altar, windows, and ceiling of the church.

Third witness recounts injuries in Owo church attack

After the second witness was discharged, the prosecution, with about eight witnesses remaining, called its third witness, SSC, a student from Achala, Anambra State, and a victim of the attack.

She said the Mass was ending when chaos erupted. “I was confused and didn’t know what to do. I was in that state until an old woman sitting close to me was killed. Someone from the choir gallery grabbed me, and we ran towards the altar.”

SSC said a dynamite exploded under her left leg, causing severe injury.

When asked if she had evidence of the injury, she stepped out of the witness box to show her leg to the court. She was taken to the hospital, underwent four operations and skin grafting, and the leg is currently being supported by an iron replete.

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Backstory

On 5 June 2022, gunmen stormed the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, during Pentecost Mass, killing more than 40 worshippers and injuring over 100 others.

On 11 August 2025, well over three years after the attack, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) arraigned five men, including the two identified on Tuesday by the second prosecution witness, on terrorism charges regarding the attack.

Prosecutors alleged that they were members of the Al Shabaab terrorist group operating a cell in Kogi State, and that they planned and executed the Owo Catholic Church attack as part of a violent religious agenda.

The five defendants all pleaded not guilty to the charges and were subsequently remanded in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS).

Their lawyer later applied for bail, arguing during a 19 August 2025 hearing that the defendants were presumed innocent. He assured the court that they would attend trial and would not interfere with prosecution witnesses. The prosecution lawyer also said some accomplices were still at large, posing a threat to witnesses.

The prosecution opposed the application in a counter-affidavit, citing the defendants’ alleged links to foreign terrorist groups, including Al-Shabab.

In September, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, dismissed the bail application, ruling that it lacked merit. He said bail could not be granted given the gravity of the offences and the strength of the prosecution’s case.

When the trial resumed on 11 December, the prosecution opened its case and called its first prosecution witness, a Catholic priest who led the Pentecost Sunday Mass on the day of the attack. His identity was shielded under the court-approved witness protection measure.

The priest told the court that the service was nearing its end when he heard a loud bang, followed by gunshots, which caused panic among worshippers.

He said church members locked the main entrance while he helped move children to a restroom within the church for safety.

The priest added that he heard sustained gunfire and explosions, adding that one of the blasts occurred close to where they were hiding. After the attackers left, he said, he came out and saw bodies and injured worshippers inside the church.