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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, one of the alleged masterminds of the June 5, 2022, terrorist attack at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, told the Abuja division of the Federal High Court how he was arrested in Kogi State and later moved to Ondo State by operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS).
Led in evidence by his counsel, Abdullahi Mohammed, the 25-year-old Omeiza, who claimed to be an auxiliary nurse, said he was arrested on August 1, 2022, after DSS operatives stormed his residence around 2 a.m.
The attack at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, which reportedly claimed the lives of over 40 people and injured more than 100 others, took place while the church was celebrating Pentecost Sunday.
In the nine-count charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, the DSSS alleged that the five defendants are members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
The other defendants are: Al Qasim Idris (20 years old), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47).
The prosecution agency specifically told the court that the defendants were key members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell in Kogi State.
It was alleged that they carried out the attack on worshippers using IEDs and AK-47 rifles, in furtherance of their religious ideology.
Testifying as DW-1, Omeize, whose evidence in Ebira language was translated in English by the court’s official interpreter, told the court that a group of people fully wearing masked awake him from his sleep. “They forced their way into my room. My Mum first raised the alarm that they were kidnappers.
When my mum was shouting, they hit her.”I recall that about eight men entered. They were asking for my elder brother, Jamiu. The men arrested Auwal and Yusuf, who are 16-year-old boys staying in a room close to mine.
“After that, they entered my room and arrested me. They searched my room but found nothing except a Tecno phone and a SparK 3 phone. They took the three of us away.”
The defendant added that he saw the 5th defendant, Abubakar, inside the vehicle he was pushed into.
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He alleged that after his arrest, he was taken to the DSS office in Lokoja, where he was chained, hung between two poles, and severely flogged with a wire until he lost consciousness.
“On our way to Lokoja, we stopped at Itakpe junction, where they asked us to identify who was called Imam Malik. We told them we did not know the person.
“They took us to the DSS office in Lokoja, where the 5th defendant and I were locked in one room while Yusuf and Auwal were kept in another.
“We were interviewed by four DSS operatives and later transferred to another room, where we met a Fulani man.
“They arranged us together and took our photograph. The DSS operatives hung me between two poles, chained my legs, and covered my face during interrogation.
They hung me again and shocked me with the electric light until I fainted. When I regained consciousness, they showed a picture of the 5th defendant and asked if I knew him.
He told the court that during the interrogation, he was naked except for the boxers he was allowed to wear.
He alleged that after his arrest, he was taken to the DSS office in Lokoja, where he was chained, hung between two poles, and severely flogged with a wire until he lost consciousness.
On our way to Lokoja, we stopped at Itakpe junction, where they asked us to identify who was called Imam Malik. We told them we did not know the person.
“They took us to the DSS office in Lokoja, where the 5th defendant and I were locked in one room while Yusuf and Auwal were kept in another.
“We were interviewed by four DSS operatives and later transferred to another room, where we met a Fulani man.
“They arranged us together and took our photograph. The DSS operatives hung me between two poles, chained my legs, and covered my face during interrogation.
