…says 2-year-old cousin shot in the head
… I jumped through the window, elderly man recounts ordeal
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, ABUJA
Two survivors of the terrorist attack that killed 40 members of St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in 2022, on Tuesday, testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
They gave a hair-raising account of what happened.
In their separate testimonies, the witnesses narrated how the church came under heavy gunfire, with no fewer than four explosives detonated by the assailants, who were allegedly members of the Al Shabab terrorist sect.
In her evidence in the ongoing trial of five alleged members of the sect that masterminded the attack, a woman, whose identity was shielded for security reasons, narrated how her left leg was damaged by one of the dynamites.
Testifying behind a protective shield, the witness, who was simply identified as “SSC”, told the court that the sporadic gunshots that ensued during the church service had thrown her into a confused state.
“I was confused and didn’t know what to do. I was in that state until an old woman sitting close to me was killed.
“It was then that someone from the choir gallery grabbed me, and we ran towards the altar.
“At the altar, I met Brother Chinedu Ojukwu, who helped me to lie down on the floor.
“We were all on the floor when the unknown gunmen climbed the altar, and one of them asked if we knew why they were doing what they were doing,” the witness, who told the court that she is a student from Anambra state, added.
Continuing, she said, “At that point, I raised my head and looked at him, but because of fear, I could not see him well.
“But he thought that I saw him, and he said that for looking at him, I will die immediately.
“He then dropped a dynamite beside my head and left. Brother Chinedu was the one who asked me to shift. While shifting, I never knew that my left leg was still on the dynamite. It exploded, and my left leg was damaged.”
Asked if she had any evidence to show that her left leg was damaged, the witness stepped out of the box and showed her leg to the court.
The witness who was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, told the court that over 100 persons were seriously injured by the assailants.
“Thereafter, I was taken to the hospital. On our way, I met my cousin brother dead. He was just two years old. He was shot in the back of his head.
“When I got to the hospital, I met our CYON president, and I asked about my mother and siblings, and he told me that they were fine.
“Later, my mum arrived at the hospital but could not recognise me because of the injury, and the dynamite made me dark. She could only recognise my clothes.
“I went through four operations, and I was also skin-grafted to cover the wound. Presently, there is an iron inside the leg. I have not stopped getting treatment.
“41 died instantly, and about 100 others were injured,” she added.
A statement she made to the Department of State Services (DSS) on May 26, 2024, was admitted in evidence and marked as Exhibit C.
Earlier in the proceedings, an elderly man who was among the survivors, while testifying as the second prosecution witness, PW-2, told the court that he jumped through the church window.
Testifying as “SSB”, the PW-2 told the court that he is a retiree that lives in Isuaga, Owo, in Ondo state, adding that the attack occurred on June 5, 2022, while the church was celebrating the Feast of Pentecost.
“We were having our Novena Mass in the church. Just about the time the church was closing, we heard a gunshot outside the church compound. We were wondering what was happening. We heard another gunshot at the gate. Then there was pandemonium in the church as everybody began to run helter-skelter.
“Then, we started hearing sporadic gunshots inside the church compound. One of the Men of Order and Discipline (MODs) ran into the church shouting, ‘Lock the door!’ Lock the door!
“Those by the door tried to lock it, but we heard some sound at the door, and we also heard footsteps of people running towards the other entrance to the church, shooting as well.
“In a matter of seconds, I saw one man emerge from that side holding a gun. He looked everywhere at the church and used his hand and beckoned on somebody behind him to come forward,” the witness added.
At that juncture, he identified one of the defendants in the dock as the first person that entered the church with a gun.
“At that time, another man emerged with a gun and started shooting at the choir gallery, and the first person that first entered the church shot at people at the lector’s seat.
“Later, we heard the sound of the first explosive, the second and the third explosive.
“When I heard the third explosive, I became very afraid and fell with my face to the ground. Then, I heard the fourth explosive.
“After a few seconds, I raised my eyes and saw three people. The third one, who was black in complexion, was putting a bag across his shoulder. After he examined the church, maybe thinking that everyone had been killed, he gave a sign that appeared to be him calling the others for them to leave.
“From then, we did not hear any gunshot again. I cannot be able to identify the person that threw the explosive, but I can identify those that were shooting, including the one that was carrying the bag, who came to assess the situation before they left.
“After they left, I saw two people trying to run away from the church. They were our church members.
“When I stood up, I jumped through the window that was on my side. I saw the dead body of a woman beside a car and another dead body of a man beside the fence near the Oba’s palace.
“They were not the only people that died. Those that lost their lives were more than 40.
By the time I came back from the hospital in the afternoon that day, the whole hospital was filled up with victims of the attack. We had people whose legs were amputated.”
Asked if he visited the church again after the incident, the witness said, “Yes, I visited the church the second day. The building was badly damaged as a result of the explosives and gunshots. The whole church was filled with blood.”
The witness told the court that on May 26, 2024, the DSS invited him and others to its office in Akure to write statements.
A copy of his statement at the DSS was admitted in evidence by the court.
While being cross-examined by counsel to the defendants, Mr Abdullahi Mohammad, the witness, told the court that one of those that died as a result of the attack was his goddaughter.
“I stood for her during baptism. She was my goddaughter. When the mother was carrying her, I took her from her mother. It was then that we heard the gunshot inside the church compound.
“The woman ran back and snatched the girl from me. It was then that the MOD ran in shouting that we should lock the door. She was one of those that died,” he added.
Asked to describe the type of guns that were used by those that attacked the church, the witness said, “I do not know the type of guns. But what I saw with them is the type of guns that we see security operatives like police carry.”
He identified the 2nd and 4th defendants to be among the assailants.
Trial Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned further hearing in the case till Wednesday.
It will be recalled that the federal government had, through the DSS, charged five persons – Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar – to court over their complicity in the terrorist attack.
The defendants, who are facing a nine-count terrorism charge, have since been denied bail by the court.
They had, upon their arraignment, pleaded not guilty to the charge against them.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, the defendants, who allegedly belong to the Al Shabab terrorist cell located in Kogi State, attacked the worshippers with IEDs and AK-47 rifles in furtherance of their religious ideology.
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