By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– Survivors of the 2022 terrorist attack that killed 40 members of St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State , on Wednesday alleged that they have been neglected by the state government.
Testifying before the Federal High Court in Abuja, one of the victims who identified himself as a civil servant, lamented that over three years after the deadly attack led to the amputation of his wife’s legs, the Ondo State government had failed to fulfill its promise to procure artificial legs for her
The witness, who gave his evidence behind a protective shield, told the court that his wife equally lost her left eye.
According to him, both the Federal Government and the Ondo State Government had pledged their support to the victims while they were receiving treatment.
He told the court that the state government specifically promised to acquire prosthetic legs for his wife.
“However, the vendor that was assigned to do so was unable to provide anyone for her until the government that was in power at that time left office.
“The current Ondo state government is no longer doing anything about it. Several times, I called the Commissioner for Health but nothing was done,” the witness, who was simply identified as “SSE” due to security reasons, lamented.
The witness told the court he hid under a pew in the church while the terrorist attack was going on.
He added that while some of the assailants were operating inside the church, others that were stationed outside mowed down those that tried to escape.
“They were shooting from the windows, and they chopped those who attempted to escape outside.
“They kept shooting those that tried to run out of the church. Explosive devices were thrown where people were hiding and the devices started exploding one after the other.
“The whole church was full of dust and smoke.
“When the device finished exploding, we thought they had gone. A woman stood up to check and she was shot. It was then that I buried myself under the church pew.
“After a while, I tried to raise up my head a bit and I saw one of the assailants hanging his gun on his shoulder. He was jogging to the alter- the sanctuary. He threw another dynamite there and quickly ran out of the scene.
“For almost two to three minutes, the device was exploding, destroying both human beings and church structures.
“After a while, the church building remained silent until outsiders ran inside shouting that they have gone. It was then that I stood up and went outside.
“I even climbed on some corpse on the floor while looking for my family.
“Outside, I saw my mother and my two daughters and it remained my wife and my son.
“I went back to the church. My Lord you could imagine the situation where I kept turning each corpse on the floor to see if any of them resembled my son. I passed my wife but could not recognize her. Her two legs were shattered. I was even pitying her. I kept looking for her, not knowing she was the one I passed.
“I went out and by the side of my car, a woman was shot there with her child. The bullets that killed them also damaged the side of my car.
“Thereafter, somebody called and told me that my wife was somewhere outside the church. I went there to see her. Then I discovered that the woman I saw in the church and was pitying was my wife.
“My mother sustained little injury and I carried her to general hospital for prompt attention.
“I also went back to the church to assist in carrying other victims to the hospital.
“At the hospital, I signed for my wife to be amputated. She was traumatically amputated and we discovered later that one of her eyes was ruptured.
“As at today, she lives with no legs and one eye,” the witness added.
Meanwhile, a little drama ensued after the defence lawyer, Mr. Abdullahi Mohammad, asked the witness to describe how the terrorists looked like and the type of guns they used.
Irked by the question, the witness replied: “How could I go and be checking the face of a man with a gun that was shooting people? How could I know the type of gun he was carrying.
“My Lord, this man is sounding as if he is one of them!”
It took the intervention of the judge to calm the situation, after which he discharged the witness.
Earlier, the wife, who was brought to the court in a wheelchair, narrated how she lost her legs after the attack.
Testifying as “SSD”, the woman, who told the court that she was a nurse with the Ondo State Hospital Management Board, said she attended the June 5, 2022, Pentecost Sunday with her husband, children and mother inlaw.
She told the court that she was singing praises with other choristers when the terrorists struck at the church.
“At first we thought it was banger or knockout, but since it was not Christmas season, we wondered what it could be.
“Then we heard the second shot. It was at that point that we realised that something was happening outside.
“One of our Men of Discipline (MOD) went outside to check and quickly return back to inform us that gunmen were outside and everybody should lie down.
“Then people started running to hide. I ran to the altar to lie down and there I met a lot of people that were there already.
“Others also ran in and lay on top of me. I was there praying in my heart that God should save my family because I did not know the direction they ran to.
“I also begged God to have mercy on me and if it was going to be my last day on earth, he should forgive all my sins.
“The sporadic gunshots continued. I could not raise my heard until I heard a loud sound which I believed was a dynamite.
“I did not know what followed until everywhere became calm again, then, I realized that I was still alive.
“I touched my eyes, everywhere was bloody. I touched my leg but could not feel anything. All I felt was rag and dangling part of my shattered leg.
“At that moment I could not talk. My voice was gone and could not hear well. I was hearing things faintly.
“I was trying to call for help but my voice was not coming out. I started waving my hand in the air for help, whispering ambulance, hospital.
“I was taken to the hospital alongside other victims and dead bodies. When I was receiving treatment in the hospital, I lost my left eye and I am currently using prosthetics.
“I also lost my two legs. My legs were amputated above the knee. I spent about five months in the hospital before I was discharged. Since then, I have been on a wheelchair.”
A statement she made to the Department of State Services (DSS) was admitted in evidence by the court and marked as Exhibit D.
Asked to tell the court what exactly damaged her eyes, the witness, said: “I can not say precisely but I believed it was the dynamite because the roof over me fell down. It was a blast from the dynamite that brought it down,” she added.
Trial Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned further hearing in the case until February 10 and 11.
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, had 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 Al Shabab terrorist cell located in Kogi state, attacked the worshipers with IEDs and AK 47 rifles, in furtherance of their religious ideology.
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