One of the five persons standing trial over the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, on Wednesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how operatives of the Department of State Services arrested him.
The defendant, Idris Omeiza, who opened his defence before Justice Emeka Nwite, said he was arrested in the early hours of August 1, 2022, and detained for weeks before the DSS confronted him with allegations relating to the Owo church massacre.
Omeiza, who testified in the Ebira language through an interpreter, spoke while being led in evidence by his counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad.
He told the court that DSS operatives stormed his residence at about 2:26 am, forced their way into the house and arrested him alongside two other young boys, Ayala and Yusuf, while asking after his elder brother, Jamiu.
“The night I was arrested, I used to wake up in the morning to read my book. When I woke up and was reading, I looked at the clock, and it was 2:26am.
“When I woke up, I was hearing noises. At that time, I dropped the book I was reading, I opened my window, viewed through the window and saw a group of people putting on black and covering their faces. They forced open the door and entered,” he stated.
According to him, he was taken to the DSS facility in Lokoja, Kogi State, where he later met the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, who had also been arrested by operatives of the secret police.
Omeiza told the court that while in custody in Lokoja, the DSS only obtained personal information from him, including his name, school, occupation and family details, adding that he volunteered a statement the following day.
He said it was not until August 18, 2022, when they were moved to Ondo State, that he was first confronted with allegations relating to the attack on the Owo Catholic Church and membership of a terrorist organisation.
The defendant further told the court that at the DSS headquarters in Ondo State, he and his elder brother were detained in the same room and interrogated about the attack.
The PUNCH reports that no fewer than 41 worshippers were killed in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, while over 140 others sustained injuries.
The DSS had arraigned Omeiza and four others — Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar — on terrorism-related charges before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The prosecution had earlier called 11 witnesses, while the court admitted the confessional statements of the defendants after conducting a trial-within-trial to determine their voluntariness.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until March 6 for continuation of the defence.
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