An officer of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, has told a Federal High Court Abuja, that he engaged in a gun battle with one of the attackers behind the June 5, 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, and later identified the man in court as the second defendant.
The witness, code-named SSG, an Assistant Commander with Amotekun and a resident of Owo, said he and his team encountered the fleeing attackers in the bush shortly after the church shooting, following intelligence from eyewitnesses.
According to SSG, he was initially responding to a separate kidnapping incident at Shagari Village in Owo when he received a call from his commander to abort the mission because an attack had just occurred at St. Francis Catholic Church.
Continuing his testimony, he said he saw spent AK-47 shells scattered on the ground, and inside the building, he met lifeless bodies of men, women and children, as well as several injured worshippers, when he got to the church.
He said the injured were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, while the corpses were deposited at St. Louis Hospital.
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SSG told the court that he later gathered intelligence from a corn seller and a motorcycle rider, who said the assailants escaped in a blue Nissan vehicle towards the Achievers University axis along Ute Road.
He said his team chased the attackers and found the vehicle abandoned along the road at Ijebu area.
He noted that the vehicle was blue, with registration number AKR 895 AG. He added that they found sachet water inside the car.
The vehicle was taken to the Amotekun office in Owo, after which the team tracked the suspects’ footprints into the bush.
At a cocoa farm area, SSG said the trail became unclear, and while observing the surroundings, he noticed movement in a nearby bush.
“I saw the mouth of an AK-47 rifle pointed at me,” he said.
He explained that as he tried to respond with his pump-action gun, he realised it was on safety mode. After disengaging the safety, a gun battle ensued.
During the exchange, the witness said the other attackers escaped into the bush, while one hid behind a tree and shot the hunter accompanying the team, killing him on the spot.
He added that he was focused on evacuating the dead hunter to the mortuary at FMC, Owo.
SSG was asked in court to identify the person he saw during the shootout. He pointed at the second defendant and reaffirmed his identification during cross-examination.
He said the suspect was later arrested through the joint efforts of the police, civil defence, the DSS and other security agencies.
The witness also identified photographs of the recovered vehicle and told the court that the car is still in the custody of security agencies.
Earlier, a pathologist, code-named SSF, testified that he conducted post-mortem examinations on victims of the Owo church attack in June 2022.
He said he was invited by the Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Awo Ajaka, and carried out the autopsies in Owo.
SSF told the court that all the bodies examined showed multiple gunshot injuries from firearms fired from different directions, leading to massive internal bleeding and death.
He identified several victims by name and body numbers in the forensic report tendered in evidence, and said the original copy was submitted to the Ondo State Government.
During cross-examination, he said he could not determine the exact type of gun or bullets used, explaining that he is a pathologist and not a ballistic expert.
The court upheld the prosecution’s objection, and the witness was discharged.
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