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An operative of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, on Tuesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he engaged in a gun battle with the attackers behind the 5 June 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo.
He narrated before trial judge Emeka Nwite that the gun battle led to the killing of a hunter who was accompanying his team into a bush where they tracked the attackers.
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The witness, who was codenamed SSG under court-approved witness protection measure, testified at Tuesday’s hearing in the trial of five men facing prosecution in connection to the terrorist attack, which reportedly claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers of the church and injured over 150 during a Pentecost Mass of the church.
In his testimony, the witness, a resident of Owo, identified the second defendant, Al Qasim Idris, 20, as one of the attackers he fought in the bush.
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The rest of the defendants are Idris Omeiza, 25; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; Abdulhaleem Idris, 25; and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47.
Led in evidence by the prosecution lawyer, Ayodeji Adepipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the witness an assistant commander with Amotekun codenamed SSG as part of court-approved witness protection measure said his team met the fleeing attackers in the bush shortly after the church shooting after eyewitnesses provided intelligence.
He said he responded to a separate kidnapping incident at Shagari Village in Owo when his commander ordered him to abandon the mission following reports of the church attack.
SSG, who testified as the seventh prosecution witness, narrated that when he arrived at the church, he saw spent AK-47 shells scattered on the ground and lifeless bodies of men, women, and children inside the building, alongside several injured worshippers.
He said responders moved the injured to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, while authorities took the bodies to St. Louis Hospital.
The witness told the court that a corn seller and a motorcycle rider informed him that the attackers fled in a blue Nissan vehicle toward the Achievers University axis along Ute Road.
He said the vehicle was with registration number AKR 895 AG.
“We learnt the attackers moved towards Achievers University at Ute Road. I pursued them with my men on our patrol vehicle.
“When we got to Ijegunman Village, and immediately they saw us, they ran into the bush. They were four in number.
“As they ran into the bush, they left the vehicle by the side of the road in Ijegunman, Ute. I searched the vehicle, saw a pack of pure water (satchet water).
“The colour of the vehicle is blue with registration number: AKR/895/AG. So, I sent two of my men to drive the vehicle to Amotekun office in Owo,” he said.
At a cocoa farm, SSG said the trail faded until he noticed movement nearby. “I saw the mouth of an AK-47 rifle pointed at me,” he said.
He said he tried to fire his pump-action gun but realised it was on safety mode. He said after he disengaged it, a gun battle broke out.
The witness said the attackers, who had an AK47 rifle each, began shooting at them, and that he also responded with his pump action gun.
He said during the exchange of gunfire, three of the attackers ran deeper into the bush, leaving one who hid behind a tree and aimed at him with his AK47 rifle, but succeeded in killing the hunter who was behind him (the witness).
SSG said he evacuated the hunter’s body to the mortuary at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.
Identification
When asked to identify the gunman, the witness pointed to the second defendant in court and repeated the identification during cross-examination.
The witness said he saw the man, who shot and killed the hunter, at a close range and could identify him, although the incident happened about four years ago.
With the permission of the judge, the witness stepped out of the witness box and moved closer to the dock where he pointed at the second defendant (Al Qasim Idris, 20 years old),
The witness said on the second day, which was 6 June 2022, he took pictures of the recovered vehicle before transferring it to the Amotekun’s state headquarters.
Photo exhibits
SSG said he used his phone, a Samsung Galaxy A12, to take the pictures of the vehicle.
He identified the photographs when shown by the prosecution lawyer, following which the pictures were tendered and admitted in evidence.
The witness said he later transferred both his report and the vehicle to the state’s headquarters of Amotekun.
He said security agencies, including the police, civil defence corps, the SSS, and others later arrested the suspect.
The witness also identified photographs of the recovered vehicle and told the court that security agencies still hold the car.
Cross-examination
Under cross-examination by a defence lawyer, the witness who was asked to reconfirm the person he actually saw, went closer to the dock again and still pointed at the second defendant.
When asked why he could not arrest the second defendant who was alone with him when the other three went deeper into the bush, the witness said he could not because the man was holding an AK47 rifle, which was more powerful than his own Pump Action rifle.
The witness, who described himself as an Assistant Commander in Amotekun, said he was also not sure if the other three were hiding somewhere to later come after him.
The seventh prosecution witness said the second defendant was later arrested as a result of the collaborative efforts of all the security agencies in Ondo State.
On the current whereabouts of the recovered car, he said it was at the Amotekun headquarters where he handed it over to his boss and that it was only his boss that could answer the question as to whether they investigated to ascertain the actual owners of the vehicle.
How pathologist conducted post-mortem examinations
Earlier, a pathologist, code-named SSF, who t testified as the sixth prosecution witness, told the court that he conducted post-mortem examinations on victims of the June 2022 church attack after the Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Awo Ajaka, invited him.
He said the bodies showed multiple gunshot injuries fired from different directions, which caused massive internal bleeding and death.
He identified several victims by name and body numbers in the forensic report admitted as evidence and said the original copy was submitted to the Ondo State Government.
During cross-examination, SSF said he could not determine the exact type of firearm or bullets used because he is a pathologist, not a ballistic expert. The court upheld the prosecution’s objection and discharged the witness.
The court adjourned the case until 11 February for continuation of trial.
READ ALSO: Owo Church Massacre: Survivor couple tell court their story, accuse Ondo govt of neglect
Background
On 5 June 2022, gunmen attacked 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, more than three years after the attack, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) arraigned five men on terrorism charges in connection with the incident.
Prosecutors alleged the defendants were members of an Al-Shabaab cell operating in Kogi State and planned and carried out the attack as part of a violent religious agenda.
The five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Their lawyer later applied for bail during a 19 August 2025 hearing, arguing that the defendants were presumed innocent and would attend trial without interfering with witnesses.
The prosecution opposed the application, saying some accomplices remained at large and posed a threat to witnesses, and cited the defendants’ alleged links to foreign terrorist groups.
In September, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, dismissed the bail application, ruling that it lacked merit given the gravity of the charges and the strength of the prosecution’s case.
Since opening its case on 11 December, the prosecution had now called about seven witnesses, many of whom recounted the horrors of the attack, describing its nature and the number of victims killed.
On 13 January, a prosecution witness recounted the hour-long incident in court and identified two of the suspected assailants among the five defendants facing terrorism charges.
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