A department of state services witness has identified two of five defendants on trial for the 2022 owo church massacre. The testimony occurred during proceedings on january 13, 2026. Another survivor also shared her account of the attack's horrors.
On january 13, 2026, the second prosecution witness, a department of state services operative whose identity was protected as ssb, testified in the trial of five men accused in the june 5, 2022 attack on st francis xavier catholic church in owo, ondo state. The witness identified the second defendant, al qasim idris (20), as an armed man who surveyed the church and beckoned to another attacker. He also pointed to the fourth defendant, abdulhaleem idris (25), as the individual who shot at the choir gallery and later carried a bag while assessing the scene before the attackers left.
The attack happened during a sunday mass for the feast of pentecost. Ssb described hearing gunshots outside the compound, followed by sporadic shooting inside. Attackers forced entry through another door despite attempts to lock the main one. Explosives were detonated at least four times inside the church, causing panic among the congregation. Ssb fell to the ground in fear and later escaped through a window, seeing dead bodies outside, including a woman beside a car and a man near the oba’s palace.
The witness estimated more than 40 people were killed, with the hospital overwhelmed by casualties, some requiring amputations. The church building suffered extensive damage from gunshots and explosions, with bloodstains everywhere.
The third prosecution witness, a female survivor identified as ssc, recounted her experience. She was confused by the initial shooting until an elderly woman beside her was killed. Gunmen climbed to the altar, asking, “do you know why we are doing this?” One threatened her, dropping dynamite near her head, which exploded and severely injured her left leg. She displayed the injury in court, noting four surgeries, skin grafting, and an iron implant, and she remains on medication. Ssc lost her two-year-old cousin, shot in the back of the head.
She reported 41 people died instantly, with over 100 injured, based on an obituary from the victims’ burial. Her statement was made to the dss on may 26, 2024. The defendants are idris abdulmalik omeiza (25), al qasim idris (20), jamiu abdulmalik (26), abdulhaleem idris (25), and momoh otuho abubakar (47). The trial, led by prosecutor adedayo adedipe (san), continues on january 14 at noon.
