Owo Church Attack: I Was Chained, Beaten Till I Fainted, Alleged Terrorist Tells Court

By Christianah Oladosu,Osogbo

One of the alleged masterminds of the June 5, 2022, terrorist attack at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.

The attack, which occurred while the church was celebrating Pentecost Sunday, led to the deaths of over 40 people and serious injuries to more than 100 others.

Omeiza mounted the witness box to open his defence against a nine-count charge that the Federal Government had filed against him and four others, alleged to be members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

The other defendants in the charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025 and filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the FG, are: Al Qasim Idris (20 years old), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47).

The court was told that the defendants were key members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell in Kogi State.

It was alleged that they carried out the attack on worshippers using IEDs and AK-47 rifles, in furtherance of their religious ideology.

Led in his defence by his lawyer, Mr. Abdullahi Mohammed, the 25-year-old Omeiza, who identified himself as an auxiliary nurse, narrated how he was apprehended in Kogi State and later moved to Ondo State.

Omeiza, the 1st defendant and DW-1, told the court that he was arrested on August 1, 2022, after DSS operatives stormed his residence around 2 a.m.

He said he was startled awake from sleep by noise outside his room.
Upon looking out the window, he saw a group of people wearing black with their faces fully masked.

The defendant, whose evidence in the Ebira language was translated by the court’s official interpreter, said: “They forced their way into my room. My mum first raised the alarm that they were kidnappers.

When my mum was shouting, they hit her.”I recall that about eight men entered. They were asking for my elder brother, Jamiu. The men arrested Auwal and Yusuf, who are 16-year-old boys staying in a room close to mine.

“After that, they entered my room and arrested me. They searched my room but found nothing except a Tecno phone and a SparK 3 phone. They took the three of us away.”

The defendant added that he saw the 5th defendant, Abubakar, inside the vehicle he was pushed into.

He alleged that after his arrest, he was taken to the DSS office in Lokoja, where he was chained, hung between two poles, and severely flogged with a wire until he lost consciousness.

“On our way to Lokoja, we stopped at Itakpe junction, where they asked us to identify who was called Imam Malik. We told them we did not know the person.

“They took us to the DSS office in Lokoja, where the 5th defendant and I were locked in one room while Yusuf and Auwal were kept in another.

“We were interviewed by four DSS operatives and later transferred to another room, where we met a Fulani man.

“They arranged us together and took our photograph. The DSS operatives hung me between two poles, chained my legs, and covered my face during interrogation.

“They asked me to tell the truth, but I said I had nothing to tell them. When they saw I was weakening from the hanging, they released me and poured water on me because I had lost consciousness.

“They later took me back to the cell, where I stayed and regained consciousness,” he added.

He told the court that during the interrogation, he was naked except for the boxers he was allowed to wear.

“After two days, they brought me out again. The officer who called me asked me to write a statement. I wrote it myself, and when I finished, he told me to go.

“The officer said he did not have enough time that day but would call me the next day for the video recording.

“The next day, he called me, and we did the video. They asked me to read the statement I had written before the camera.”When I finished, they asked if I had been forced to write it, and I said no. I then signed the statement. It contained nothing about the Owo attack.

“When I was done, I thumbprinted it. They then brought out a form where bail conditions were written.

“After I filled it out, they put the video in my statement file and wrote my name on the back.”They told me I had done my part and should pray to God for an early release.

“They took me back to the cell, and I stayed there until August 18, 2022. At that time, I did not know they had arrested my elder brother, Jamiu (3rd defendant).

“Around 4 or 5 a.m. that day, they brought me, the 5th defendant, Yusuf, and Auwal to a room. It was there that I saw my elder brother had also been arrested.

“The operative in charge of our case, PSO Timothy, then told me that my elder brother and I would be taken to Ondo.

“On August 18 in Lokoja, they did not ask me about the Owo case, Al-Shabaab, or ISWAP. They took my elder brother and me to Ondo State.”

Continuing his evidence, the witness said: “When we got to Ondo, my elder brother and I were kept in one room at the DSS headquarters in Akure.

“An officer wrote down our names. After five minutes, he called my elder brother outside. I then heard my brother shouting. About 30 minutes later, he was brought back.

“When I asked what happened, he said they had asked if he knew the 4th defendant. When he confirmed he did, they started beating him.

“He was still explaining when they called me out too. They took me to other officers.”They brought the 2nd defendant to me and asked if I knew him. I confirmed I did, and they sent me back to the cell.

“They then said they had discovered what happened in the Ondo community. The officer told me not to mention anybody’s name in relation to the Owo attack.

“He said I should just tell them my role in the incident. I said I knew nothing about the Owo case.

“He asked if I usually visited Ondo State, and I said yes, since 2018, because my elder brother had a farm there. He said either I tell the truth and he would make it easier for me, or if I refused, he would make it tough.

“I began swearing by God that I knew nothing. He said the God I swore by pained him the most and started beating me with a wire. I was shirtless.

“After beating me for a while, they took me to where my brother was. While we sat, they took us to where the other defendants were.

“They divided us among themselves and beat us again. They also hung me on the burglar bars of a window. We were told PSO Timothy had directed that we be beaten until we confessed.

“After beating me for a while, they dropped me, poured water on me, and shocked me with an electric light. I became unconscious. When I regained consciousness, the officers said if we confessed, they would make things easier. They asked us to admit involvement in the Owo attack.

“They said if I wanted my family to know I was in detention, I should admit I was part of the Owo terror attack.They boasted that if they beat me to death, nothing would happen, as after God, they were the next authority in town.

“They hung me again and shocked me with the electric light until I fainted. When I regained consciousness, they showed a picture of the 5th defendant and asked if I knew him.

“When I admitted I did, they asked if he led us to Owo for the attack. I said he did not lead me anywhere, but he lived in our community. They asked if I knew his whereabouts, and I said he was in Lokoja; we were arrested together.

“They asked if I knew PSO Timothy had called to say the 5th defendant led us to the Owo attack. I said I did not know,” the defendant added.

Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case until Friday for continuation of the hearing.

The prosecution had closed its case after calling eight witnesses against the defendants.

Meanwhile, the defendants, who had earlier pleaded not guilty, told the court they would call four witnesses to establish their innocence.