Owo church massacre: Officer identifies second defendant as gunman

Owo Catholic church

An officer of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, on Monday told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that he engaged one of the attackers behind the June 5, 2022, massacre at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, in a gun battle and later identified the man in court as the second defendant.

The PUNCH reports that the Department of State Services is prosecuting five persons – Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Abubakar (47) – on nine counts of terrorism, over the attack that left over 40 worshippers dead, with many others injured.

The witness, code-named SSG, an Assistant Commander with Amotekun and a resident of Owo, said he and his team encountered the fleeing attackers in the bush shortly after the church shooting, following intelligence from eyewitnesses.
SSG told the court that he was initially responding to a kidnapping incident at Shagari Village in Owo when he received a call from his commander directing him to abort the mission due to the attack at the church.

He said that on arrival at St Francis Catholic Church, he saw spent AK-47 shells scattered around the premises, while inside the building were lifeless bodies of men, women and children, alongside several injured worshippers.

According to him, the injured victims were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, while the corpses were taken to St Louis Hospital.

SSG further told the court that intelligence gathered from a corn seller and a motorcycle rider revealed that the attackers escaped in a blue Nissan vehicle towards the Achievers University axis along the Ute Road.

He said his team pursued the assailants and later found the vehicle abandoned around the Ijebu area.

The vehicle was blue, with registration number AKR 895 AG. We also found sachet water inside,” he said.