An operative of the Ondo Satate Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun, narrated to the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday efforts of his team to arrest the assailants behind the 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The witness, identified as SSH as a witness protection measure, testified before trial judge Emeka Nwite as the eighth prosecution witness in the trial of five men facing prosecution over the terrorist attack.
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More than 40 worshippers and 150 reportedly injured in the attack that shattered the church’s Pentecost Mass.
The five defendants being prosecuted by the federal government over the incident are Idris Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; Abdulhaleem Idris, 25; and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47.
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SSG recalled that his team exchaged gunfire with the assailants in the bush some moments after the attack on the church.
On Wednesday, SSH echoed shed more light on some of the details SSG shared on Tuesday regarding the efforts to arrest the attackers.
The chase
Led in evidence by the prosecution lawyer, Ayodeji Adedipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), SSH told the court how his team received a distress call about the attack while on an anti-kidnapping mission.
“On 5 June 2022, as an operative of Amotekun, we received a distress call from the anti-kidnapping squad.
“We were on an anti-kidnapping mission when we received a call that there was an attack at the St. Francis Church, Owo.
“So, we were asked to withdraw and go to St Francis Church. On getting to the church, we met a crowd and managed to enter the premises.
“When we entered the church premises, we saw several dead bodies on the floor, both inside and around the church, including some injured people, including women and children,” he said.
He said whey they later came outside the church to gather information, they “learnt that the attackers were four in number and that they left the church in a blue Nissan car.”
“We got into our vehicle and started to trail them towards Ute Road, because that was the information we got.
“We were able to get close to them because our vehicle was more efficient than the one they were carrying,” he said.
SSH said at a point, the attackers “suddenly parked their car and ran into the bush. One of our men and a volunteer went after them while the rest of us waited strategically.”
The witness said they later heard gun shots.
“After a while of gun shots, our colleague came out of the bush and informed us that the hunter has been killed.
“We were able to get back to the bush to take the body of the hunter,” the witness said.
He added that they later took the Nissan car to their office, before it was moved to the state headquarters of Amotekun.
Cross-examination
During cross-examination by defence lawyer Abdullahi Mohammed, SSH said seven operatives, including the hunter, were on patrol on the day of the attack.
He also confirmed that the vehicle’s owner later came forward to identify himself before officials moved the blue Nissan car to the Amotekun headquarters.
The witness said he could not remember how many of them brought out the hunter’s corpse from the bush.
He also said the owner was interviewed at the Amotekun office, but that he was not part of those who interviewed the person.
READ ALSO: Owo Church Massacre: Amotekun operative identifies suspected attacker in court
After the cross-examination of the witness, the prosecution lawyer, Mr Adedipe, requested three days – 24, 25 and 26 March – to close the prosecution’s case. The judge granted the request and scheduled further proceedings as requested.
SSH’s testimony aligned with that of SSG, who testified on Tuesday.
SSG, an assistant commander with the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, had told the court that he was in the bush when one of the defendants, whom he later identified in court, shot and killed a hunter accompanying his team after the church attack.
Since opening its case on 11 December, the prosecution has called about eight witnesses so far.
Going by indication from Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecution could still have nothing less than five witnesses lined up.
The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation arraigned the five suspects on terrorism charges in August 2025, more than three years after the attack.
Prosecutors alleged the defendants belonged to an Al-Shabaab cell operating in Kogi State and planned and carried out the attack as part of a violent religious agenda.
But the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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