Lt. Gen. Lucky Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)
Owo Catholic church attack: DHQ arrests two more suspected terrorists
Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Thursday, in Abuja, disclosed two more Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists who participated in the massacre of over 40 worshippers at the St. Francis Catholic Church, in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, this year, have been arrested.
The arrest brings to six the number of suspected terrorists paraded by the military in connection with the attack on the church on Sunday, June 5, in the Ondo town.
Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, had during a meeting with media executives and editors on Tuesday announced the arrest of five suspected terrorists including the mastermind of Owo attack.
However, a day later, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, clarified that one of the suspects, was actually a fleeing inmate of the Kuje prisons who fled after ISWAP terrorists stormed the facility, last month, adding that only four were arrested in connection withe Owo attack.
However, in a statement on Thursday, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Akpor, said the duo of Al-Qasim Idris and Abdulhaleem Idris were arrested at the Omialafara (Omulafa), Ose LGA in Ondo State during a joint operation with the DSS, Police.
The statement was titled, ‘Arrest of two additional suspected terrorists in connection with the Owo Catholic Church on June 5, 2022.’
“Recall that the Chief of Defence Staff during his parley with media executives and editors yesterday, Tuesday 9 August 2022, informed of the arrest of 4 terrorists among those who carried out the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo on 5 June 2022.
“They were arrested through a combined operation by military and DSS personnel at Eika, Okehi LGA, Kogi State on 1 August 2022. Those arrested include Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (a.k.a Bin Malik), Momoh Otohu Abubakar, Aliyu Yusuf Itopa and Auwal Ishaq Onimisi.
“Barely few hours after the disclosure by the CDS of the arrest of four of the Owo Catholic Church attackers, two additional ISWAP terrorists, who were also connected to the attack on the church were apprehended at Omialafara (Omulafa), Ose LGA, Ondo State yesterday, August 9 2022,” the statement read.
