The Department of State Services (DSS) has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to deny bail to five men standing trial over their alleged involvement in the deadly June 5, 2022, terror attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, which left about 40 worshippers dead and more than 100 others injured.
In a counter-affidavit filed against the defendants’ bail application, the DSS warned that the men, allegedly connected to foreign terrorist fighters linked to the Al-Shabab group pose a high risk of absconding if released.
It further argued that granting bail could jeopardize the safety of witnesses and compromise the ongoing trial.
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The defendants, identified as Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), were arraigned on a nine-count charge bordering on terrorism.
The charges, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, stem from the Owo massacre, widely condemned as one of the bloodiest attacks in Nigeria in recent years.
“There is a very high likelihood of defendants evading trial in view of their connection to foreign fighters linked to Al-Shabab terrorist group.
“The defendants’ accomplices are still at large and have been making frantic efforts to monitor their trial, intimidate witnesses and free the defendants from lawful custody,” the DSS stated in its filing.
The secret police added that it was investigating leads on associates of the accused persons who were allegedly plotting to compromise the trial.
It disclosed that prosecution witnesses had expressed fears for their safety, stressing that they would not attend proceedings unless adequate protection measures were put in place.
This, the DSS explained, led to an ex parte application for witness protection.
Abdullahi Mohammad, counsel to the defendants, however, urged the court to grant bail, noting that the men had been in detention since their arrest in 2022.
He insisted that his clients were ready to provide credible sureties to guarantee their appearance in court.
But Calistus Eze, prosecution counsel, countered the application, describing it as unmeritorious.
He told the court that threats to potential witnesses were ongoing, an issue the defence was well aware of.
After hearing both sides, Emeka Nwite (Justice) adjourned ruling on the bail application to September 10.
Earlier during proceedings, Eze informed the court that the prosecution was not ready to open its case because the DSS had handed over the matter to Ayodeji Adedipe, a senior lawyer to lead the prosecuting team.
He explained that the agency was in the process of obtaining a fiat from the Attorney General of the Federation to formalise Adedipe’s role, and therefore requested an adjournment, which the defence did not oppose.
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Eze also sought an order for witness protection, praying the court to allow prosecution witnesses to testify under pseudonyms and appear in court hooded or veiled, with their identities concealed from the public.
He asked that the witnesses’ real names be excluded from all court records accessible to the public.
In a brief ruling, Nwite granted the application, ordering that the identities and personal details of the prosecution witnesses be protected throughout the trial.
