A Catholic Priest has testified at the ongoing trial of five suspects over the attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in 2022.
The terrorist attack claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers and left over 100 others injured.
The suspects; Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite.
On August 11, the terrorists were arraigned on a nine-count charge filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
The suspects and others who are at large were alleged to have sometime in 2021, joined the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
They were alleged to have their “cell in Kogi and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 25(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, a Catholic priest, whose identity was concealed for security reasons, testified against the suspects.
Led in evidence by Ayodeji Adedipe, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), the priest said he presided over the church service on the day of the attack.
He told the court that the church service was nearing its end on the fateful day when the worshippers suddenly heard gunshots.
“Suddenly I heard a loud sound. I looked into the congregation, facing them,” the priest said.
“There was already a commotion, which, for me, I thought meant somebody had fallen. But I sighted two men from our congregation; these men were members of our community.
“They quickly locked the main entrance door, and another elder in the church came to me in the sanctuary and said to me, ‘Father, we are under attack.’
“From this point, I heard the sporadic shooting of guns. This was still outside the church. One of the elders told me, ‘Father, you have to leave.’
“At first, I was reluctant to leave the sanctuary. If not for anything, at least because of those children, who call me father.
“So, taking my leave from the sanctuary, I and some adults moved some of these children into a safe place. This is an attachment to that church.
“When I was in this place (the safe place), I continued to hear the continuous shooting of guns and the use of about three explosives.
“The third explosive landed very close to the safe place, where I was with the children, with the effect which looked like the opening of the ground. The effect was like the ground opening to swallow us immediately.
“So, the attack continued. After a while, some of our church members came into this place (safe place) and notified us that those who came to attack us had left.
“Moving out with the children, I saw my choir master shot in the chest. He called me to pray for him. I did, but I told him I have to move him to the hospital. When I got out, I saw some already dead on the floor.
“So, I shouted that if there is any of us who could still drive, let us begin to move our brothers and sisters to the hospital.”
Asked if he counted the number of the dead worshippers, the priest said it was impossible to count since the church environment was chaotic.
During the cross-examination by Abdullahi Mohammed, counsel to the defendants, the witness was asked to ascertain the number of those who carried out the attack.
The priest said he was not able to identify the attackers due to the commotion in the church at the time.
“With the commotion in the church and my desire to rescue, especially the children, as quickly as possible, I could not and I did not identify or recognise those who carried out the attack,” he said.
“Therefore, I don’t know their number.”
Earlier, the DSS counsel told the court that the charge against the suspects has been amended to correct some minor errors.
He applied that the amended charge should be read to the defendants.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The case was adjourned to January 13 and 14, 2026.
