A Department of State Services witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday that the men accused of carrying out the June 5, 2022 massacre at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, were deliberately funded, armed, and strategically mobilised before the attack an orchestrated operation that left at least 40 worshippers dead and more than 100 others injured.
The testimony, delivered by the ninth prosecution witness, identified only as SSI for security reasons, offered the most granular account yet of how one of Nigeria’s deadliest attacks on a place of worship was planned and executed. SSI, who serves as a Deputy Director in charge of Counter Terrorism Investigation at the DSS and led the investigation team into the massacre, gave his evidence before Justice Emeka Nwite, with prosecuting counsel Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, leading him through the details.
Five men are standing trial in connection with the attack. They are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, aged 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; Abdulhaleem Idris, 25; and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47. According to the prosecution’s witness, all five were members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), a group proscribed under Nigerian law, and belonged to a cell that operated in the Okene/Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, as well as Omielafa and Omielege communities in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The cell, the witness stated, functioned under the coordination of a man identified simply as Odoba, who is said to habitually operate from Ogaminana in Adavi LGA of Kogi State. Odoba has not been apprehended and remains at large as of the time of this report.
The five defendants were arrested in August 2022, approximately two months after the attack, with arrests conducted simultaneously in Kogi and Ondo States.
According to SSI’s testimony, the chain of events began on May 30, 2022, when Odoba convened a meeting of select cell members at Government Secondary School, Ogaminana. Al Qasim Idris was present at that meeting. The instruction passed down from Odoba was unambiguous: attack the Catholic Church in Owo on a Sunday, and ensure the priest was killed.
The witness noted that the ISWAP cell operated in alliance with Al-Shabab, though it was not clarified in open court whether this referred to the East Africa-based Al-Shabaab or a local affiliate or designation. That detail remains significant and may emerge under cross-examination.
After receiving the directive, Al Qasim returned to Omielafa and gathered members of his cell, including his brothers Abdulhalid (the 4th defendant) and Jamiu (the 3rd defendant), along with the 1st defendant, Omeiza. A second meeting was held following Friday Jumaat prayers at a mosque where the Idris brothers’ father serves as Chief Imam. At that gathering, Al Qasim passed on Odoba’s instructions and informed them that two additional individuals identified as Mohammed and Abdullahi — would be brought in to reinforce the team.
On Saturday, June 4, 2022 the day before the attack Abdulhaleem Idris, the 4th defendant, travelled to Adavi where he hired a Volkswagen Golf 3 car. He then proceeded to collect Odoba, who supplied the group with five AK47 rifles, ten magazines, rounds of ammunition, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for the planned operation.
By evening, the entire group had gathered at Abdulhaleem’s residence in Omielafa. There, Al Qasim led what the witness described as a “dry practice” — a rehearsal conducted with weapons but without live rounds, intended to reorient participants on weapon safety and operational procedure. After the dry run, the group spent the night in Al Qasim’s room.
That same night, Al Qasim rode his father’s motorcycle to deliver items to Mohammed and Abdullahi, facilitating their movement for surveillance of the church and logistical support on the day of the attack.
The following morning, Sunday, June 5, 2022, the 1st to 4th defendants, along with a fifth associate identified as Kabir — a cousin to Al Qasim and Omeiza, also currently at large — were driven to the church in the hired Golf car. Their weapons were concealed in sacks. They arrived between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and met up with Mohammed and Abdullahi at the scene.
What followed, as the witness narrated, was methodical and brutal. Two of the attackers sat near a woman roasting corn and purchased some, apparently to blend into the surroundings. A young male hawker who had been observing them was approached, whispered to by one of the attackers, and as he turned to leave, was shot dead. That killing triggered immediate panic and chaos in front of the church.
In the ensuing confusion, the attackers intercepted a man driving a Nissan Sunny car who had just left a nearby Deeper Life Bible Church service. They carjacked his vehicle and drove it directly into the premises of St. Francis Xavier.
Under Al Qasim’s directive, each attacker moved in predetermined directions. Abdulhaleem, who was carrying the bag containing the IEDs, detonated at least three explosive devices. The others opened fire indiscriminately inside the church’s sanctuary, outside the building, and on worshippers attempting to flee.
The witness told the court that 40 people including women and children died at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, where they were rushed after the attack. An additional 23 were wounded and hospitalised. The witness further noted that the hawker killed in front of the church was not among the congregation, making him a separate and first casualty of the attack, and that some of the 40 deceased had already died before arriving at the hospital.
Testimony regarding the 5th defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, emerged after the presiding judge observed that the witness had spoken at length about the other four defendants without addressing Abubakar’s alleged role. The witness acknowledged the oversight and proceeded to fill in the gap.
According to SSI, investigation revealed that Abubakar operated Point of Sale (POS) units across five separate locations. Approximately two to three weeks before the attack, his account was credited on two separate occasions with a total of N800,000. Abubakar allegedly used his POS machines to distribute this money to members of the Al-Shabab unit of ISWAP, with the defendants among the beneficiaries. Investigators found no legitimate business transactions that could account for the transfers between Abubakar and the other defendants.
Technical evidence, the witness added, further established that Abubakar was in active communication with the other four defendants within the period of the attack.
During the proceedings, the prosecution tendered several exhibits, all of which were admitted without objection from the defence. These included a comprehensive DSS investigation report on the attack, a medical report signed by a doctor identified as Dr Ayodeji O.O — though the witness noted that efforts to bring the doctor physically to court had not succeeded — and 30 photographs taken at the scene by investigators, admitted as Exhibits M through M30. Autopsy reports on some of the deceased were also admitted in eviden
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), which covered the proceedings, reported that defence lawyer Abdullahi Mohammad indicated he would not object to the tendering of the comprehensive investigation report, but requested time to study it thoroughly before proceeding to cross-examine the witness, given that it had only been served on the defence team a few days earlier.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to February 18, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. for continuation of trial.
The Owo church massacre of June 5, 2022, stands among the most traumatic episodes of religiously targeted violence in Nigeria’s recent history. The attack occurred during a Pentecost Sunday Mass and sent shockwaves across the country and the wider Catholic world. Pope Francis publicly condemned the killings. Nigeria’s then-President Muhammadu Buhari declared it an act of terrorism and ordered security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
For context, the attack came during a particularly volatile period for security in Nigeria’s South-West. While the region had not historically been the primary theatre of ISWAP or Boko Haram activity — groups whose operations had been concentrated in the North-East — analysts had been flagging the gradual southward drift of Islamist militant networks for years. The Owo massacre appeared to validate those concerns in the most horrifying terms.
ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016 and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, had by 2022 become the dominant jihadist faction in Nigeria’s North-East and was increasingly expanding its operational footprint. Its alliance with Al-Shabab cells, as referenced in the DSS testimony, suggests a layered franchise structure capable of projecting violence far from its traditional strongholds.
The prosecution of the five defendants before Justice Nwite represents a critical moment in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism legal framework. While high-profile terror trials have taken place in Nigerian courts before — including proceedings linked to Boko Haram operatives — the Owo case is distinctive for its location, its targeting of a Christian congregation, and the specific evidentiary trail that investigators say they have assembled.
The trial continues
