ABUJA— A lead investigator at the Department of State Services, DSS, yesterday narrated before the Federal High Court in Abuja, how the June 5, 2022, terrorist attack at St. Francis’ Catholic Church, Owo, in Ondo State, which led to the death of over 40 persons and left more than 100 others injured, was planned.
The witness, who testified behind a protective shield with his real name replaced by the letters ‘SSI’, identified himself as the Deputy Director in charge of Terrorism Investigation.
He added that he led the team that investigated the deadly terror attack that struck the church on Pentecost Sunday.
According to the witness, the attack was planned at a Government Secondary School in Ogaminana, Kogi State.
Testifying as the ninth witness in the case, the DSS investigator told the court that the meeting, held at the school on May 30, 2022, was coordinated by a terror leader identified as Odoba, whom he said had given direct instructions to attack the Catholic Church in Owo.
The witness told the court that Odoba’s clear directive was that the church should be attacked on a Sunday, with the priest in charge killed.
He said it was a holistic investigation by the DSS that led to the eventual arrest of the five defendants that are facing trial before the court.
They were accused of belonging to the Al Shabab terrorist group, with their cell located in Kogi state.
Led in evidence by Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, the PW-9 told the court that upon the receipt of information about the terror attack, his team was detailed to unravel the perpetrators; the cause of the incident; their sponsors, and any other findings.
He said it was based on the intelligence that was gathered that the DSS arrested the defendants in August 2022 in Kogi and Ondo states.
Narrating how the attack was perfected, the witness told the court that one of the defendants, Idris, who attended the meeting, to Omilafia and Omilenge where others operating as Al-Shabab members gathered at Ogaminana in Kogi state and were briefed about Odoba’s instruction.
The witness added that the assailants held another meeting on a Friday after Jumaat prayer at a mosque where the father of the 2nd and 3rd defendants was the Chief Imam.
He told the court that the following Saturday, Idris travelled to Adavi in Kogi state, where he hired a Volkswagen Golf car and went to meet Odoba who supplied them with five AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines, live ammunition and explosive devices.
The PW-9 further told the court that members of the terror group slept in Idris’ room where the concluded the arrangements and took lessons on how to handle weapons as well as precautions to take during the attack.
According to the witness, Idris later took his father’s motorcycle to Mohammed and Abdullahi who came from the North to participate in the attack.
He said the motorcycle was to facilitate their movement while mounting surveillance on the church during the attack.
On June 5, 2022 which was the day of the attack, the witness testified that the 4th defendant and one Kabiru who is still at large, arrived with a Volkswagen Golf that contained the weapons that were hidden in a sack.
He said while the weapons were being brought out in front of the church, a hawker saw the defendants but was prevented from raising the alarm.
He said a Nissan car belonging to a member of Deeper Life Church, which was being driven along the route by the owner, was immediately snatched from him. In the resultant chaos, the defendants proceeded to the Catholic Church, where they started shooting sporadically.
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