A witness of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the case against four suspected terrorists behind the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, on Tuesday identified one of the defendants as part of the actual attackers.
NAIJAONPOINT , who said he is a member of the Ondo Security Network, tagged “Amotekun,” told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was able to identify the 2nd defendant, Al Qasim Idris, because they had an exchange of gunfire at close range.
This is the second time since the trial opened that a prosecution witness has identified some of the defendants as the attackers.
The 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2), identified as “SSB,” who said he is a member of the church and was present during the attack, had, while testifying on January 13, identified Al Qasim Idris (2nd defendant) and Abdulhaleem Idris (4th defendant) as those he saw among the attackers.
The DSS is prosecuting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25 years), Al Qasim Idris (20 years), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26 years), Abdulhaleem Idris (25 years), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47 years) on alleged terrorism offences involving the June 5, 2022, attack on the church.
Led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, PW-7, identified as “SSG” for security reasons, told the court that he was informed of the attack by his state’s commander, who ordered him and his team to move to the church.
NAIJAONPOINT said that upon arriving at the church, he saw blood everywhere and corpses of children, men, and women on the floor, including in the church hall. He said he saw about 35 corpses.
PW-7 said that he and members of his team were told the attackers had just left the church in a Nissan Sunny car and were heading in a particular direction.
“We learnt the attackers moved towards Achievers University at Ute Road. I pursued them with my men in our patrol vehicle.
“When we got to Ijegunman Village, they ran into the bush as soon as they saw us. There were four of them.
“As they ran, they left the vehicle by the side of the road in Ijegunman, Ute. I searched the vehicle and found a pack of pure water.
“The color of the vehicle is blue with registration number AKR/895/AG. I sent two of my men to drive the vehicle to the Amotekun office in Owo,” he said.
SSG told the court that he and a hunter who worked with his team went after the fleeing attackers into the bush and at one point ran into them where they were hiding.
NAIJAONPOINT said the attackers, each armed with an AK47 rifle, began shooting at them, and he responded with his pump-action gun.
He said during the exchange of gunfire, three of the attackers ran deeper into the bush, leaving one who hid behind a tree and aimed at him with his AK47 rifle, killing the hunter who was behind him.
NAIJAONPOINT said he saw the man who killed the hunter at close range and could identify him, even though the incident happened about four years ago.
At that point, Adedipe applied to the court to allow NAIJAONPOINT to move closer to the dock, where the defendants stood, to identify the man who shot and killed the hunter, an application the defence lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammad, did not oppose.
With the judge’s permission, NAIJAONPOINT stepped off NAIJAONPOINT box and moved closer to the dock, where he pointed at the 2nd defendant, Al Qasim Idris (20 years).
NAIJAONPOINT said that on the second day, June 6, 2022, he took pictures of the recovered vehicle before transferring it to Amotekun’s state headquarters, using his Samsung Galaxy A12. He identified the photographs when shown by the prosecuting lawyer, following which the pictures were tendered and admitted in evidence.
He said he later transferred both his report and the vehicle to the state’s Amotekun headquarters.