A nurse with the Ondo State Hospital Management Board on Wednesday recounted before a Federal High Court in Abuja how she lost both legs and her left eye during the June 5, 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
Testifying as the fourth prosecution witness (PW-4) for the Department of State Services (DSS), the nurse—identified as “SSD” for security reasons—appeared before Justice Emeka Nwite. Led in evidence by DSS counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, she said the attack occurred during the church’s Pentecost Sunday service.
According to her, worshippers initially mistook the first gunshots heard outside the church for celebratory fireworks. As the situation escalated, she ran toward the altar and lay down with other congregants seeking safety.
She told the court that after sustained gunfire, a loud explosion—believed to be from a dynamite—went off, after which she lost consciousness. When she later realised she was alive, she discovered she had suffered severe injuries.
She said she was taken to hospital alongside other victims and bodies of those killed. During treatment, she lost her left eye and now uses a prosthesis. She added that both her legs were amputated above the knees, leaving her wheelchair-bound after spending more than five months in hospital.
At the request of the prosecution, Justice Nwite allowed the witness to be wheeled to the centre of the courtroom, where she demonstrated her injuries to the court.
Under cross-examination, SSD said she could not determine the exact cause of her eye injury but believed it resulted from the explosion that damaged the altar area. She said she later learnt that at least 41 worshippers died in the attack, information she obtained after regaining consciousness and from records during the mass burial.
Another witness, PW-5, identified as “SSE,” who is the husband of the nurse, also testified. He told the court that he attended the service with his wife, mother and three children. He described how gunmen surrounded the church, shooting through windows and throwing explosive devices inside after forcing their way in.
He said he survived by hiding under a pew and later searched through the church and surrounding area for his family members. He eventually discovered that his wife was among those critically injured.
According to him, doctors later amputated his wife’s two legs and confirmed damage to one of her eyes. He added that promises by the Ondo State Government to provide prosthetic legs were not fulfilled before the end of the previous administration, and efforts to get help since then had yielded no result.
Under cross-examination, SSE said the attackers used both firearms and explosives and that he saw at least four assailants—three inside the church and one shooting from outside.
Justice Nwite adjourned the trial to February 10 and 11 for continuation.
The DSS is prosecuting five defendants—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—over the deadly attack.
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