Nigeria: How DSS tracked, arrested Owo church attackers
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
Abuja, Feb 20, 2026 — The Federal High Court in Abuja has set March 4 and 5 for five alleged members of the Al‑Shabab terrorist group to open their defence over the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State. The assault, carried out during Pentecost Sunday service, left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 injured.
Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47)—are facing a nine‑count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government. Prosecutors allege they belong to an Al‑Shabab cell based in Kogi State and used improvised explosive devices and AK‑47 rifles to attack worshippers.
At the resumed hearing, the prosecution closed its case after presenting its 11th witness (PW‑11), a senior DSS operative and digital forensic lead identified as “SSK.” Led by prosecution counsel Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), SSK told Justice Emeka Nwite that, after the attack, the DSS director‑general ordered his team to trace, locate and apprehend the perpetrators using advanced digital investigative tools.
“With these applications, we filtered thousands of mobile phones that had contact with cell towers in Owaluwa, Elegbeka and Ifon,” SSK said. “We narrowed it down to one of the defendants’ phone numbers—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (the 1st defendant). The system revealed the phone’s unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), which enabled us to trace, locate and arrest him. His confession led to the arrest of the other defendants.”
The witness added that “frequency of communication” analysis linked the five men, showing multiple calls among them before and after the attack. Call‑data records placed the 1st defendant’s phone within a 35‑kilometre radius of the church at about 7:23 a.m. on the day of the attack, and later showed movement toward Ifon. Analysis of June 3–4, 2022, placed his phone in the Elegbeka and Ifon axis, indicating his presence in the area before the assault.
The court admitted into evidence the defendants’ confessional statements, a digital forensic examination report, and a Tecno mobile phone recovered from the 1st defendant. No objection was raised by defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammed.
Under cross‑examination, SSK said investigations lasted over a month and that all five defendants were arrested in August 2022 at various locations in Kogi and Ondo states. Following the close of the prosecution’s case, the defence indicated that the accused will testify on their own behalf. Counsel requested access to the defendants, who remain in DSS custody, to prepare their defence.
