The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted additional confessional statements and a digital forensic examination report in the ongoing trial of five men accused of involvement in the June 5, 2022 terror attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
Justice Emeka Nwite admitted the exhibits, which included a Tecno mobile phone said to contain communication records among the defendants before and after the attack.
The court allowed the documents and device in evidence after defence counsel, Abdullahi Mohammed, raised no objection.
The five defendants — Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) — are facing a nine-count charge over the attack that left 41 worshippers dead and 140 others injured.
At Thursday’s sitting, the Federal Government formally closed its case after presenting 11 witnesses to establish the allegations against the accused persons.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter to March 4 and 5 for the defendants to open their defence.
Counsel to the accused earlier informed the court that only the defendants would testify in their own defence and indicated that the case could be concluded within a day.
He, however, requested that the court direct the Department of State Services (DSS) to grant him unhindered access to his clients in custody to facilitate preparations.
The prosecution’s final witness, a DSS operative identified by the code name PSSK, told the court that he led forensic and counter-terrorism investigations following the attack.
According to him, investigators deployed geospatial network filtering technology to analyse thousands of mobile phone lines connected to the Egbeka and Ifon areas of Ondo State.
The witness said the process narrowed investigations to the phone line of the fifth defendant, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, leading to his arrest in Ifon.
He added that Omeiza’s alleged confession subsequently led to the arrest of the four other defendants.
Further forensic analysis, the court heard, revealed frequent communication among the accused persons before and after the attack.
The prosecution maintained that their arrests were the result of targeted technological tracking rather than coincidence.
Under cross-examination, the government stated that post-incident investigations lasted over a month and that the five defendants were apprehended in August 2022 at various locations across Kogi and Ondo states.
The trial continues.
