The priest, identified as “SSA” for security reasons, spoke while giving his evidence as 1st prosecution witness (PW-1) before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The terror attacks happened on June 5, 2022, at the church in Ondo State.

The Department of State Services, DSS, in a nine-count amended charge, is currently prosecuting five of the suspected terrorists before Justice Nwite.

The defendants include Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25 years), Al Qasim Idris (20 years), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26 years), Abdulhaleem Idris (25 years) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47 years).

The witness, while being led in evidence by DSS counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, told the court that the attack took place towards the end of the First Pentecost Sunday celebration service which was attended by many worshippers.

The priest, who said he presided over the service, said as the service was coming to a close, they suddenly heard a loud noise, followed by sporadic shootings, which created commotion and chaos among worshippers.

The PW-1 described June 5, 2022 as a memorable day of his life.

“This is so because it was the day when the violent attack was launched on us – myself and all the worshiping community of St Francis Catholic Church, Owo Ondo State.

“It was an incident which led to the death of over 40 persons among us, while some of us became maimed; some of us, till this point, have permanent physical injuries.

“I recall that the attack was towards the end of the worship that day.

“I was the priest assigned to lead the community in worship, which is known as the holy mass.

“Towards the end of the mass, I was performing the last rites and the people of God had started singing the recessional hymn, the closing hymn.

“Suddenly, I heard a loud sound. I looked into the congregation, facing them.

“There was already a commotion, which for me, I thought somebody had fallen.

“But, I sighted two men from our congregation, these men were members of our community.

“They quickly locked the main entrance door and another elder in the church came to me in the sanctuary and said to me, ‘Father, we are under attack.’

“From this point, I heard the sporadic shooting of guns.

“This was still outside the church. This elder told me, ‘Father you have to leave.’

“At first, I was reluctant to leave the sanctuary.

“If not for anything, but at least, because of those children, who call me Father.

“So, taking my leave from the sanctuary, I and some adults moved some of these children into a safe place; this is an attachment to the church.

“When I was in this place (the safe place), I continued to hear the continuous shooting of guns and the use of about three explosives.

“The third explosive landed very close to the safe place, where I was with the children, with the effect which looked like the opening of the ground.

“The effect was like the ground opening to swallow us immediately.

“So, the attack continued. After a while, some of our church members came into this place (safe place) and notified us that those, who came to attack us have left.

“Moving out with the children, I saw my choir master shot at the chest.

“He called me to pray for him. I did, but I told him I have to move him to the hospital.

“When I got out, I saw some already dead on the floor.

“So, I shouted that if there is any of us, who could still drive, let us begin to move our brothers and sisters to the hospital,” the PW-1 said.

When asked if he counted the number of the dead, the witness said it was impossible for him to ascertain the number of those killed under the commotion that the attackers created in the church environment on that day.

“It was with that violent attack that I understood that proverb that says, ‘the one struck or hit by a vehicle does not wait to take note of the vehicle’s number plate.’

“So, I could not immediately count the number of those dead.

“Personally, I went two times to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo to take the casualties to the hospital.

“By the time I came the second time, there were already ambulances, both from FMC Owo and St. Louis Catholic Hospital, Owo, also moving the casualties to these two hospitals.

“The second time I got to FMC, the emergency ward was filled up with these casualties.

“The casualties were those that were killed and injured.

“With the wailing, weeping and crying from people, I couldn’t even drive again.

“The care and healing of those injured continued,” the witness said.

The priest said he was later invited to the DSS office in Akure, Ondo State, where he made a statement.

When he was being cross examined by the defence lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammad, the witness said he could not ascertain the number of those who carried out the attack.

“With the commotion in the church, and my desire to rescue, especially the children quickly as possible, I could not and I did not identify or recognise those who carried out the attack.

“Therefore, I don’t know their number,” he said.

On how it was possible for him to rescue the children, the witness said the children were at the foot of the sanctuary, where he was standing when the attack started.

“As I said with some adults, I moved with the children to a safe place.

“This safe place is the restroom, attached as a building to the sanctuary.

“From that building that is attached, you can move into the sanctuary and out of it,” he said.

Earlier at the commencement of proceedings, Adedipe informed the court that the charge had been amended to correct some minor errors.

He applied that the amended charge should be ready to the defendants, which was done and the defendants all pleaded not guilty.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until January 13 and January 14, 2026 at 12noon each day for the continuation of hearing.

Source: NAN

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“Do not lose hope, that is the message I want to give you,” the 88-year-old pontiff told the prisoners during the ceremony.

The opening of a Holy Door in a prison is a symbolic gesture.

The pope is known for advocating for the forgiveness of convicted criminals and their reintegration into society.

Arriving in a wheelchair, Francis paused for a moment of silence before rising with the help of a walking stick.

He approached the prison gate, knocked several times and helpers raised it from the inside.

The pontiff then crossed the threshold of the massive doorway, symbolising the passage into grace and reconciliation.

In spite of appearing fatigued in recent public appearances, the Pope seemed at ease during the prison visit, speaking informally and without prepared remarks to inmates and staff. After the service, he engaged personally with several attendees.

READ ALSO: Police foil kidnap attempt on 10 passengers in Jibia

The event followed his opening of the Holy Year 2025 on Christmas Eve by ceremonially unsealing the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica.

The Catholic Church celebrates a jubilee every 25 years, during which believers who pass through the Holy Doors after penance and communion are granted indulgences or remission of sins.

This marks the first time in the Church’s history that a Holy Door had been opened in a prison, according to the news portal Vatican News.

Source: dpa/NAN

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Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins in a statement issued in Lagos condemned in very strong terms all forms of ethnic profiling, provocative utterances, and incidents of violence witnessed in some parts of Lagos State, before, during and after the recent elections.

The Archbishop, in the statement signed by the Director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, described as unfortunate and unacceptable, the tension, hate speech and violence, especially before and after the recent gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in some parts of the state.

The prelate urged the state government, as a matter of urgency, to call all parties to order and to put in place a machinery for the quick restoration of peace and normalcy.

In the same vein, he implored the law enforcement agencies to safeguard the lives and properties of all residents irrespective of tribe, religion, or ethnic groups.

Archbishop Martins also urged the residents of Lagos to remain calm and not allow themselves to be divided against their neighbours.

According to him, “the ethnic and discriminatory comments making the rounds particularly on social media, are not a reflection of the true nature of Lagosians, who are known to be peace-loving, accommodating and cosmopolitan, including by promoting inter-tribal marriages for many decades.

“I call on everyone to put a stop to the spread of hate speech and fake news and to shun all forms of rancour. The divisive comments and behaviours, particularly along ethnic or tribal line, is not conducive to good neigbourliness and peaceful coexistence. The people of Lagos must not allow the political class to whip up such divisive sentiments to disrupt their lives and livelihood.

“We are all equal before God and the only man-made distinction among people is between the poor and the rich, the privileged and the under-privileged. We are all Nigerians and have lived and interacted together as one people for decades in Lagos and other parts of our country.

“With the elections over, we hope that all those who have been fanning the embers of ethnic division will be more circumspect and desist from further heating up the polity. We must be law-abiding citizens and not take the law into our hands in any guise,” he added.

While commiserating with families that lost their loved ones and persons whose properties were destroyed in the violence in the state and across the country, Archbishop Martins also urged law enforcement agencies to do the needful where offences have been committed, as part of efforts to facilitate a national healing process.

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Rumours filtered into town on Thursday evening that the perpetrators of the terror attack were nabbed by the combined team of the Nigerian Army, Amotekun Corps and other security agents.

On June 5, terrorists attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa Street, Owo, during church service.

Forty of the 127 persons in the church were killed, leaving 87 survivors out of which 61 are currently on admission in different hospitals and 26 already discharged.

A viral video circulated online indicated that those who perpetrated the terror attack had been arrested.

It was gathered that residents of Owo town besieged the palace of the Olowo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, to confirm the news of the purported arrest of the suspects on Thursday evening.

Oba Ogunoye, who addressed the crowd in Owo dialect, said he only heard about the news just the way the residents heard it and asked them to remain calm.

A source within the palace of Olowo, who didn’t want his name mentioned, said the information was only a rumour.

“It was only a rumour. Youths besieged the palace in their thousands when the rumour broke out, but it was discovered to be a false alarm.

“Kabiyesi was only trying to hail their doggedness as he told them that, ‘I heard the rumour like you too’,  admonishing them to be patient to authenticate it.

“But it was later discovered that the story was about a group arrested along Owo/Benin boundary in possession of dangerous weapon,” the source told newsmen.

While speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in Ondo State, denied the rumour, saying she could not confirm the arrest of the attackers.

“I cannot confirm anything like that. There is no story like that in the state,” the PPRO told NAN.

Also, a source from Nigeria Army, 32 Artillery Bridgade, Akure, who didn’t want his name mentioned, said emphatically that the perpetrators of the Owo attack had not been arrested.

He said security agents only arrested people caught with Indian hemp.

“It is a rumour, those arrested are those engaged in Indian hemp business. They are about three or so, they were arrested somewhere around Owo forest,” the source told NAN.

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Reacting through the Communications Secretary of IOOW, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, Akintoye called on the state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, to declare an emergency against the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the state with immediate effect.

The renowned scholar said the effrontery of the Fulani marauders needed to be frankly and courageously confronted so as to prove to their sponsors that the Yoruba people could never be intimidated or subjugated.

He said to permanently solve the Fulani herdsmen’s quagmire, the Yoruba people needed to negotiate their exit from the Union of Nigeria without further delay.

“We have stated it very expressly that the Yoruba people need to negotiate their exit from Nigeria as a matter of urgency but our Partisan Political Actors in Yoruba Land never took us serious. We warned them that there’s fire on the mountain but we were mocked because of their personal aggrandizement.

“Today, we have all been encircled, most especially, in Lagos. For Herdsmen to have the effrontery of bombarding a Church in Yoruba Land to kill about 85 people shows that we are now in a realistic danger.

“My urgent advise to Governor Akeredolu is to pick up the gauntlet and declare an emergency against the activities of all Fulani Herdsmen in the state with immediate effect.

“We have now been taken for granted. We need not pretend anymore. We must demand unanimously, an exit from Nigeria.

“We the Yoruba People cannot live in the same country with characters whose idea of common citizenship in Nigeria is to brutalize, subjugate and even exterminate us. It is time to leave these characters now. All Stakeholders – the Elites, Traditional Rulers, Our Women should act now.

“All the South West States, including the Yoruba Leaders in Kogi and Kwara States should equally declare an emergency against the activities of Fulani Herdsmen. We must now take our destinies into our hands.”

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He said there was no place for such hatred and wanton killing in Nigeria.

Tinubu’s remarks are contained in a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Sunday over the incident.

The statement reads in full:

“Today’s attack on worshippers at the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, is reprehensible in every sense of the word. There is no place for such hatred and wanton taking of innocent lives in our nation.

“No one can discern the darkness in the mind of those that would kill people who were merely engaged in the harmless practice of their faith. The only thing that can be said for sure is that these perpetrators are evil and that they should be subjected to the full measure of the law and justice.

“This violent attack has shocked the conscience of the nation and shattered the peace of this ancient town. It has saddened our hearts beyond what words can say. However, those who did this have made a terrible mistake. They think they can break our collective spirit and our will to live in peace and with compassion to all regardless of faith. What they have done will not pull us apart. We must unite so that together we extinguish this evil from our nation. We owe it to ourselves and to those who lost their lives in this heinous attack.

“Violent extremism and insecurity want to bring us low. We must continue to do all that we can to beat the vile challenge so that Nigeria becomes its better self. The architects of violence shall only seal their own fate but not the fate of this nation or the peace-loving people who inhabit it.

“While this is political season, let us put aside partisan affiliation and politics for the moment. I ask all Nigerians to stand and commiserate with Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the families of the victims of the attack and indeed the people of Owo and Ondo State. I too mourn and extend condolences with the pastors and leaders of St. Francis Catholic Church.

“While urging the people of the state to remain calm, and peaceful, we must also urge the police and security agencies to do all that is within their mortal power to do to get to the bottom of this attack, apprehend the wicked perpetrators and bring them to justice.

“May God watch over this republic and the people of Nigeria such that such evil is quickly and forever extinguished from the land!”

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Addressing the congregation at Catholic Church in Sokoto, Kukah used the occasion to thank his parents and the Catholic family for giving him the opportunity to be what he is.

He noted that he would not have been a priest without the support of his parents and the church, while admonishing the congregation to constantly remember that everything in their lives was God’s gift.

“My happiness is not about how far I have been as a priest in the vineyard of the Lord, but how I remain committed to preaching the gospel with fidelity and constancy.

“I pray that those coming behind us do greater things than we are doing, to keep preaching the gospel with fidelity and constancy, not minding whose ox is gored,” he said.

The bishop further urged Nigerians to continue to be proud of the country at all times, saying “God does not make mistake for making us a nation of diverse culture, religion and ethnicity.

“I talk about Nigeria with pride because before our very eyes, God will do a great thing that we will all rejoice with,” he added.

Kukah also expressed happiness that aside preaching the gospel, he had, in the last 20 years, positively impacted numerous lives through his scholarship programme to students across the federation.

“Today I am very happy that sometimes, people stop me and say thank you Bishop Kukah for making a huge impact in our lives. I also schooled courtesy of your scholarship.

“As such, my next plan is how to take 50,000 families out of poverty through an empowerment programme that is coming soon, by the grace of God,” the cleric said.

Source: NAN

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