Owo Church trial: DSS presents phone evidence, confessions against suspects

The 10th prosecution witness in the trial over the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church on Wednesday told a Federal High Court that phone analysis placed the accused persons at the scene of the incident.

The witness, an officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), testified before Justice Emeka Nwite that telecommunications data showed the defendants’ phones were active around the cell site location near the church at the time of the attack.

The five defendants — Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) — are being prosecuted over the deadly assault.

According to the witness, call records and cell site analysis indicated that the first to fourth defendants were within the vicinity of the church premises when the attack occurred. He added that, beyond the technical evidence, the defendants voluntarily made confessional statements linking themselves to the crime.

The DSS officer told the court that the statement-taking sessions were witnessed by a representative of the Legal Aid Council after the defendants said they could not afford private legal representation or have family members present.

When the prosecution sought to tender the confessional statements in evidence, defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammad objected, arguing that his clients did not make the statements and requesting a trial-within-trial to determine their admissibility.

Justice Nwite overruled the objection and declined to order a trial-within-trial, holding that such a procedure is only necessary where voluntariness is in dispute, not where the defendants deny making the statements. The judge subsequently admitted the confessional statements into evidence.

Earlier, the ninth prosecution witness, who led the DSS investigation, told the court that the defendants were arrested in August 2022 in Kogi and Ondo states and later interviewed in Abuja. He alleged that they were members of ISWAP operating under a cell known as Al Shabab.

The witness said investigations revealed that the defendants used explosives and ammunition during the attack, drove to the church in a rented vehicle, and later hijacked another vehicle from a worshipper to escape. He added that meetings were held prior to the attack, during which instructions were allegedly given.

The case was adjourned to Thursday for continuation of hearing.