How we tracked, arrested Owo church attackers, DSS witness tells court

2026-02-20 - 03:37

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri The Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, yesterday, fixed March 4 and 5 for five alleged members of the Al-Shabab terrorist group to open their defence over the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo. The attack, which occurred during Pentecost Sunday service in Owo, Ondo State, left over 40 worshippers dead and more than 100 others injured. The defendants—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47)—are facing a nine-count terrorism charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), on behalf of the Federal Government. The court was told that the defendants were members of an Al-Shabab terrorist cell based in Kogi State and allegedly carried out the attack on worshippers with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and AK-47 rifles in furtherance of their religious ideology. At the resumed hearing, the prosecution closed its case after presenting its 11th witness (PW-11), a senior DSS operative and Digital Forensic Lead identified as “SSK.” Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, the witness told Justice Emeka Nwite that following the attack, the Director-General of DSS mandated his team to trace, locate and apprehend the perpetrators. He said the team adopted advanced digital investigative tools. “With these applications, we were able to filter thousands of mobile phones that had contact with the cell towers in Owaluwa, Elegbeka and Ifon. “As a result, we narrowed it down to one of the defendants’ phone numbers. The defendant is identified as Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (the 1st defendant). “The system revealed a unique identification number, the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), associated with the 1st defendant’s phone. This number is a unique digital fingerprint for every phone, meaning no two phones have the same IMEI. “This enabled us to trace, locate and arrest the 1st defendant. His arrest and confession led to the arrest of other defendants,” he said. The witness further told the court that his team carried out what he described as “frequency of communication” analysis, which established links among the defendants. “These three individuals exchanged several communications before and after the incident,” he said, referring to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants. He added that call data records and cell tower analysis placed the 1st defendant’s phone within a 35-kilometre radius of the church at about 7:23 a.m. on the day of the attack. “Even though the 1st defendant applied a ‘no phone call rule,’ as a trained terrorist, his mobile phone was active. Shortly after the attack, analysis revealed movement of the phone towards Ifon,” he stated. He also told the court that analysis of June 3 and 4, 2022—days preceding the attack—showed that the 1st defendant’s phone was within the Elegbeka and Ifon axis. “There is what is called a silent witness. The movement of the phone from one cell tower to another gave us insight into the movement of the 1st defendant on the pre-attack days and the day of the attack. “The frequency of communication further revealed relationship analysis among the defendants. Three of them made several calls before and after the attack, which showed they knew one another and that their arrest was not accidental,” he added.” The court admitted in evidence the defendants’ confessional statements, a Digital Forensic Examination Report, and a Tecno mobile phone allegedly recovered from the 1st defendant. The exhibits were tendered without objection from defence counsel, Abdullahi Mohammed. Under cross-examination, the witness said post-incident investigations lasted over a month and that all five defendants were arrested in August 2022 at different locations in Kogi and Ondo states. Following the close of the prosecution’s case, the defence informed the court that the defendants would testify for themselves. Counsel requested access to his clients, who are in DSS custody, to enable him to adequately prepare their defence. Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until March 4 and 5 for the defendants to open their case.