How suspected terrorists planned, carried out Owo church attack – SSS operative

An investigator with the State Security Service (SSS) on Tuesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how suspected terrorists planned the June 2022 attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo Ondo State. He also said intelligence gathering and technical tracking led to the arrest of five suspects linked to the attack.

The witness testified before trial udge Emeka Nwite as the ninth prosecution witness. He was codenamed SSI under a court-approved witness protection measure.

“The incident occurred on the 5th June 2022, and I was mandated to lead a team of investigators to unravel the perpetrators, the cause of the incident, their sponsors, and any other findings that may arise,” he said.

According to him, the investigation combined intelligence gathering and technical analysis, enabling operatives to identify and apprehend suspects across state lines. “We proceeded to gather intelligence, and also exploited technical resources, which eventually led us to the arrest of five persons, in August 2022,” he said.

He mentioned the suspects as Idris Omeiza, 25 years; Al Qasim Idris, 20 years; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26 years; Abdulhaleem Idris, 25 years; and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47 years.

The witness said their investigation later found that they are “members of the Islamic State West Africa Province, (ISWAP) a proscribed terrorist group, and the instruction given to the suspects was to attack on a Sunday, and ensure that they killed the Priest.”

PREMIUM TIMES reported that 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 last year, 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.

Coordinated field operations that led to suspects’ arrest

Led in evidence by the prosecution lawyer, Ayodeji Adedipe, the SSS operative, who works as the Deputy Director in charge of counter-terrorism investigation, explained that the arrests followed coordinated field operations in Kogi and Ondo states after investigators mapped the suspects’ network and movements.

“Our investigation found out that the persons were members of ISWAP, who belong to a cell that operated around Okene, Adavi LGAs of Kogi State, as well as Omilafa and Omilenge in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, under the coordination of one Odoba.

“Odoba usually hibernates around Ogaminana in Adavi LGA of Kogi State. On the 30th May 2022, my Lord, Odoba called a meeting of some of the group members, who are members of his ISWAP cell. They go with the alias Al-Shabab. So on 30th May 2022, they met at Government Secondary School, Ogaminana, where Al-Qasim Idris was present, and Odoba instructed them to attack the Catholic Church in Owo and kill the priest.”

He said when Al-Qasim returned to Omilafa, he convened a meeting of some of the cell members, including Abdulhaleem. The SSS operative said Al-Qasim’s brother, and Jamiu, were in that meeting except Momoh.

“There was equally one Kabir, who is a cousin to Al-Qasim and Abdulhaleem, and the meeting was held after the Juma’at Prayer at the mosque, where Idris’ brother’s father is the Chief Imam.

“Al Qasim told them to prepare for the attack, as instructed by Odoba. He equally told them they would be getting two other persons from the North to reinforce the team. The names of these individuals were Mohammed and Abdullahi.

“On Saturday, the next day, being the 4th June 2022, Abdulhaleem travelled to Adavi, where he hired a Volkswagen Golf 3 car, and he proceeded to meet Odoba, who supplied them five AK-47 rifles, with 10 magazines, and rounds of ammunition, and also Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for the planned attack. He returned to Omilafa the same day, Saturday. By evening, all of them had gathered at his father’s house, where Al-Qasim reviewed the attack plan with them.

“They all went and did some form of dry practice with weapons without live rounds, where you reorient yourself with the weapons. At the end of the dry practice, they all spent the night at Al-Qasim’s room.

“That night, Al-Qasim took a motorcycle which belonged to his dad, but which he rode most of the time, to deliver to Mohammed and Abdullahi, who came from the north, to facilitate their movement for surveillance on the church, and also during the attack.

“The next morning, being the 5th June 2022, the first to fourth defendants, together with Kabir, who is at large, were driven in the Volkswagen Golf, with the weapons concealed in sacks, driven by Abdulhaleem, to the church. This was at a time between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. in the morning, or thereabouts. They met Abdullahi and Mohammed along their way, close to the church.

“When they got to the church, they brought out the sacks and pulled out their weapons, and about two of them sat with a woman who was roasting corn, bought the corn and ate. There was a young man, also a hawker, who was observing them. And one of them went and whispered something to the hawker. And when the hawker was about to leave, another individual approached him to speak to him.

“This individual became their first casualty. He was shot dead instantly, and this stirred a form of chaos in front of the church. In the midst of that, they intercepted a man who was just coming from a Deeper Life Bible Church in a Nissan Sunny car, and they snatched the car. At that moment, they proceeded right into the church premises, and under the direction of Al-Qasim, they proceeded in directions he ordered them to attack the church.

“Abdulhaleem was carrying the bag that contained the IEDs. In the course of the attack, they shot sporadically outside and within the sanctuary; they also fired at officers who were attempting to escape. Abdulhaleem, who had the bag containing the IEDs detonated at least three explosives, while the others engaged the worshippers with the AK-47 rifles.

“The casualty recorded that very day, about 140 people were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), and about 23 others to the Saint Louis Hospital. Forty died at the FMC, and the 41st person was the one killed at the front of the church. The 40 dead comprise men, women, children, and infants.”

The witness said, “Some of them were taken to the hospital dead,” and that records from FMC confirmed 40 deaths, signed by a medical doctor, Ayodeji O.O. He also said efforts to reach the doctor for clarification were unsuccessful. The report was admitted into evidence as Exhibit I.

Court admits list of patients, other documents as exhibits

The court also heard that Saint Louis Hospital provided a list of patients admitted and treated after the attack, and the witness added that autopsy was conducted on the victims. He said the autopsy reports were in the custody of the SSS. The hospital report, signed by the administrator who is said to be abroad, was admitted as Exhibit J.

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Additionally, the prosecution tendered a list from the church detailing members who died or were injured in the attack. The document, signed by a parishioner, was admitted as Exhibit K.

Other evidence included a report from the Nigerian Police Force Explosives Ordinance Disposal Department, which cleared the scene, and photographs of victims and injured persons. The court admitted 30 pages of photographs and certificates of compliance as Exhibits L1 to L30.

The witness told the court that while the first to fourth defendants were detailed in the investigation, the fifth defendant, who operated multiple point-of-sale units, was initially overlooked. But he said “investigation later revealed that the fifth defendant worked in tandem with the first to fourth defendants.”

He alleged that funds from his accounts were distributed to members of the Al-Shabab unit of ISWAP before the attack.

The investigation report, signed by the witness, was admitted as Exhibit L, after which the defence lawyer A.A. Muhammad asked for time to go through the documents, noting he had been served only that day.

The judge adjourned proceedings until Wednesday for cross-examination.