A witness from the Department of State Services testified on Tuesday in the trial of four suspected terrorists linked to the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, identifying one of the defendants as one of the attackers.
The witness, a member of the Ondo Security Network, popularly known as “Amotekun,” told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he was able to recognize the 2nd defendant, Al Qasim Idris, following an exchange of gunfire at close range.
This marks the second occasion since the trial commenced that a prosecution witness has identified some of the defendants as the church attackers.
The 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2), identified as “SSB,” who was present at the church during the attack, had previously, on January 13, identified Al Qasim Idris (2nd defendant) and Abdulhaleem Idris (4th defendant) as part of the attackers.
The DSS is prosecuting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) for terrorism-related offences connected to the Owo church attack.
Led by prosecuting lawyer Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, the 7th prosecution witness (PW-7), identified as “SSG” for security reasons, recounted that he was informed of the attack by his state commander and ordered to move to the church.
On arrival, he described seeing “blood everywhere and corpses of children, men and women on the floor, including in the church hall,” estimating about 35 bodies.
He said, “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 are 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 and found a pack of pure 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 the Amotekun office in Owo.”
SSG explained that he and a hunter accompanying him pursued the fleeing attackers in the bush. At one point, they encountered the attackers, each armed with an AK47 rifle, who opened fire. SSG returned fire 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 me with his AK47 rifle, but succeeded in killing the hunter who was behind him.”
SSG testified that he could identify the man at close range, despite the incident occurring about four years ago. Upon the prosecuting lawyer’s request, the court allowed him to approach the dock to identify the shooter, and he pointed directly at the 2nd defendant, Al Qasim Idris.
He added that on June 6, 2022, he took photographs of the recovered vehicle using his Samsung Galaxy A12 before transferring it to Amotekun’s state headquarters, and the photographs were tendered and admitted in evidence.
During cross-examination by defence lawyer Abdullahi Mohammad, SSG confirmed his identification of Al Qasim Idris, explaining that he could not arrest him immediately because “the man was holding an AK47 rifle, which is more powerful than my own pump-action rifle.”
He also expressed concern that the other three attackers could have been hiding to launch a counterattack.
He said the 2nd defendant was eventually arrested through the joint efforts of security agencies in Ondo State.
Regarding the recovered car, he stated it remains at his headquarters, having been handed over to his boss, who can provide further details about the vehicle’s ownership.
Earlier, the 6th prosecution witness (PW-6), identified as “SSF,” testified as a pathologist who conducted autopsies on the victims of the church attack. A certified true copy of the autopsy report was admitted into evidence without objection.
SSF identified some of the victims in the report, including Dr. Ajanaku John Adesina (body number nine), John Bosede (body number 17), Onileke Ester Ilerioluwa (body number 13), and Onuoha Deborah (body number 4).
On the cause of death, he stated, “Generally, all the bodies bore the marks of gunshot injuries, arising from bullets from firearms that would have been fired from varying distances from the bodies and causing organ ruptures and skeletal damages that would caused massive bleeding and exsanguination so that they died.”
