Survivors of the deadly assault on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed 40 lives in June 2022, have provided harrowing testimonies before a Federal High Court in Abuja, detailing the moments of terror when gunmen stormed the congregation during a Pentecost service and detonated multiple explosives.
The witnesses, testifying under protective measures in the ongoing trial of five alleged members of the Al Shabab terrorist sect accused of masterminding the attack, recounted scenes of chaos, confusion, and carnage that left over 100 persons injured and fundamentally altered the sense of security in houses of worship across Nigeria’s southwest.
A female survivor, identified only as “SSC” for security reasons, told the court from behind a protective shield how her left leg was destroyed by a dynamite planted beside her head by one of the assailants who threatened to kill her for making eye contact with him during the attack.
“I was confused and didn’t know what to do. I was in that state until an old woman sitting close to me was killed. It was then that someone from the choir gallery grabbed me and we ran towards the altar,” the witness, a student from Anambra State, told the court in testimony led by prosecution counsel Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN.
She described how she took shelter at the altar alongside a church member identified as Brother Chinedu Ojukwu, who instructed congregants to lie flat on the floor as the gunmen advanced through the sanctuary.
“We were all on the floor when the gunmen climbed the altar and one of them asked if we knew why they were doing what they were doing,” the witness continued. “At that point, I raised my head and looked at him, but because of fear I could not see him well. But he thought that I saw him and he said that for looking at him that I would die immediately. He then dropped a dynamite beside my head and left. Brother Chinedu was the one who asked me to shift. While shifting, I never knew that my left leg was still on the dynamite. It exploded and my left leg was damaged.”
The witness stepped out of the witness box to display her injured leg to the court as evidence of the attack’s brutality. She underwent four surgical operations and skin grafting procedures to address the extensive damage caused by the explosion, and told the court that an iron rod remains implanted in her leg as part of ongoing medical treatment.
Her testimony also revealed the personal toll of the massacre, including the death of her two-year-old cousin who was shot in the back of the head. She recalled arriving at the hospital so severely disfigured by burns and shrapnel that her own mother initially failed to recognise her, identifying her only by her clothing.
“When I got to the hospital, I met our Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria President and I asked about my mother and siblings and he told me that they were fine. Later, my mum arrived at the hospital but could not recognise me because of the injury, and the dynamite made me dark. She could only recognise my clothes,” the witness stated.
Her account, which estimated that approximately 100 persons sustained serious injuries during the assault, was corroborated by a statement she provided to the Department of State Services on May 26, 2024, which was admitted into evidence and marked as Exhibit C.
An elderly male survivor, identified as “SSB” and testifying as the second prosecution witness, provided a detailed chronology of the attack, which occurred on June 5, 2022, as the church was concluding its Pentecost Novena Mass. The retired resident of Isuaga, Owo, described how initial gunshots outside the church compound quickly escalated into a full-scale assault.
“We were having our Novena Mass in the church. Just about the time the church was closing, we heard a gunshot outside the church compound. We were wondering what was happening. We heard another gunshot at the gate. Then there was pandemonium in the church as everybody began to run helter-skelter,” the witness told the court.
He recounted how members of the church’s Men of Order and Discipline rushed into the sanctuary shouting warnings to lock the doors, but the assailants breached multiple entry points simultaneously, unleashing coordinated gunfire across different sections of the building.
“In a matter of seconds, I saw one man emerge from that side holding a gun. He looked everywhere at the church and used his hand and beckoned on somebody behind him to come forward,” the witness stated, before identifying one of the defendants in the dock as the first gunman to enter the church.
The witness described how a second armed assailant followed, directing fire at the choir gallery while the first shooter targeted congregants at the lectors’ seat. Four explosives were detonated in succession throughout the attack, creating what the witness described as an atmosphere of overwhelming fear and destruction.
“When I heard the third explosive, I became very afraid and fell with my face to the ground. Then, I heard the fourth explosive. After few seconds, I raised my eyes and saw three people. The third one who was black in complexion was putting a bag across his shoulder. After he examined the church, maybe thinking that everyone has been killed, he gave a sign that appeared he was calling the others for them to leave,” the witness recounted.
Following the attackers’ departure, the witness escaped through a church window and encountered multiple bodies, including those of a woman beside a car and a man near the fence of the Oba’s palace. He returned to the scene the following day to find the church building severely damaged, with blood covering the interior and structural destruction evident throughout the sanctuary.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammad, the witness revealed that his goddaughter was among those killed in the massacre, underscoring the deeply personal impact of the violence on the Owo community.
The June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church ranks among the most devastating terrorist incidents in southwestern Nigeria’s recent history. The assault shattered the relative sense of security that had characterised the region compared to Nigeria’s northeast and northwest zones, where armed groups have waged prolonged insurgencies. The targeting of worshippers during a major Christian feast day sent shockwaves through religious communities nationwide and prompted intense security reviews at houses of worship across the country.
In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, security agencies launched extensive investigations that eventually led to the arrest of the five defendants currently standing trial. The prosecution has linked the suspects to Al Shabab, though the Somalia-based terrorist organisation did not claim responsibility for the attack at the time. Some security analysts have suggested the assault bore tactical similarities to operations conducted by various armed groups operating across Nigeria’s northwest and central regions, raising questions about potential coordination or copycat tactics among different militant factions.
The trial’s progression has been closely monitored by victims’ families, religious leaders, and human rights organisations seeking accountability for one of the deadliest single attacks on a place of worship in Nigeria’s history. The witnesses’ willingness to testify despite evident trauma and ongoing security concerns reflects the determination of survivors to secure justice for those killed and injured during the rampage.
The Federal High Court’s decision to employ protective measures for the witnesses, including identity concealment and physical barriers during testimony, acknowledges the legitimate security risks faced by those providing evidence in terrorism prosecutions. Such precautions have become standard practice in Nigerian courts handling cases involving organised armed groups, reflecting both the persistent threat posed by such networks and the judiciary’s commitment to protecting those who assist in bringing perpetrators to justice.
The trial is expected to continue with additional witness testimonies and forensic evidence as prosecutors build their case against the five defendants.
