DSS Witness To Court: How Owo Catholic Church Attack Was Planned, Executed

A witness of the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how the June 5, 2022 terror attack was planned and executed against the St Francis Catholic church in Owo, Ondo state in which 41 people were killed and 140 others injured.

The witness who gave evidence as prosecution witness number nine with security code SSI is a Deputy Director in charge of Terrorism Investigation and led the DSS panel that investigated the deadly terror attack against the church.

Led in evidence by Prosecuting Counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), the witness claimed that upon receipt of information on the terrorism attack, his team was detailed to unravel the perpetrators, the cause of the incident, their sponsors and any other findings.

He said upon gathering intelligence, the DSS operatives arrested five persons in August 2022 in Kogi and Ondo states. He named those arrested as Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Quasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.

The witness added that preliminary investigation revealed that they are members of Al-Shabab, an arm of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAB), a terrorism organization said to have been outlawed.