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Owo Church Attack: 8th DSS Witness Corroborates 7th’s Testimony Identifying 2nd Defendant Al Quasim As Part of Bloodbath

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Owo Church Attack: 8th DSS Witness Corroborates 7th’s Testimony Identifying 2nd Defendant Al Quasim As Part of Bloodbath

By: Our Reporter

An eight witness of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the ongoing trial of suspected attackers of the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in 2022, on Wednesday corroborated the Tuesday testimony of a 7th witness who identified one of the suspects as being part of those who carried out the attack.

Like the 7th DSS witness did on Tuesday, the 8th also identified the 2nd defendant, Al Quasim Idris, as being part of those who allegedly killed the worshippers.

The witness, an Amotekun operative, told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was one of the officers who arrived in the church premises shortly after the attack. He identified Al Quasim Idris as one of those who, shortly after the attack, exchanged gunfire at close range with him in a nearby bush.

The DSS is prosecuting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25 years), Al Qasim Idris (20 years), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26 years), Abdulhaleem Idris (25 years) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47 years) over the June 5, 2022 attack on the church.

Earlier on Tuesday, another Amotekun officer, who is listed as the seventh witness of the DSS, in open court, identified Al Quasim Idris as one of those with whom he came face-to-face during a gunfight that ensued.

Led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), SSH, who is the eight prosecution witness (PW8), on Wednesday, gave details of how they trailed and tried to apprehend the attackers, resulting in the exchange of gunfire with Al Quasim Idris.

SSH said: “On June 5, 2022 as an operative of Amotekun, we received a distress call from the anti-kidnapping squad. We were on an anti-kidnapping mission when we received another call that there was an attack at the St. Francis Church, Owo.

“So, we were asked to withdraw and head to St Francis Church. On getting to the church, we met a crowd and managed to enter the premises.

“When we entered the church premises, we saw several dead bodies on the floor, both inside and around the church, including some injured people, including women and children,” he said.

The witness added: “We later came outside the church and learnt that the attackers were four in number and that they were the ones who zoomed off in a blue Nissan car as we were arriving.

“We got into our vehicle and started to trail them towards Ute Road, because that was the information we got. We were able to get close to them because our vehicle was better than the one they were in.”

SSH said at a point, “the attackers abruptly parked their car and ran into the bush. One of our men and a volunteer hunter went after them while the rest of us waited strategically.”

The witness said that it was during an intense gun battle with the attackers in the bush that he sighted Al Quasim Idris. He, however, added that the assailants succeeded in killing the volunteer hunter.

“We were able to get back to the bush to retrieve the body of the hunter,” the witness stated.

The Amotekun officer stated that they later took the Nissan car to their office before it was later moved to their state headquarters.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammad, the witness said he could not remember how many of them brought out the hunter’s corpse from the bush.

On whether they made efforts to identify the actual owner of the Nissan car, the witness said: “Before we moved the vehicle to the state headquarters at Akure, the owner came to our office to identify himself as the owner of the vehicle.”

When asked if they interviewed the owner of the vehicle, the witness said that was done in their office, but that he was not part of those who interviewed the owner of the car..

At the conclusion of the cross-examination, Adedipe prayed the court to grant a three consecutive day adjournment to enable the prosecution call its last set of witnesses and close its case.

The defence lawyer did not oppose, following which Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned till March 24, 25 and 26 for continuation of trial.

Owo Church Attack: 8th DSS Witness Corroborates 7th’s Testimony Identifying 2nd Defendant Al Quasim As Part of Bloodbath

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Troops clear bandits’ camps, rescue victims, recover arms in Bauchi

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Troops clear bandits’ camps, rescue victims, recover arms in Bauchi

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops under Operation WUTAN DAJI have cleared several bandits’ camps, rescued kidnapped victims and recovered arms during clearance operations in Bauchi State.

Security sources said troops of 33 Artillery Brigade Garrison, in conjunction with elements of the Brigade Headquarters and a team from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), carried out the operation in Kumbodoro forest and Kumbodoro village.

According to the sources, the operation was led by the Commander, 33 Artillery Brigade, Brig.-Gen. S.S. Shehu, as part of ongoing efforts to rid the area of criminal elements.

They added that several bandits’ camps, including Azuge camps, were cleared during the operation, while a number of the criminals were neutralised.

Items recovered include four skeletal rifles, four dane guns, two pairs of boots, three helmets, a power bank, a Startimes decoder, one FN rifle magazine, one AK-47 magazine, communication links, a jackknife, six mobile phones, arrows, radio chargers, ATM cards, photographs, identity cards, as well as several pairs of security agency uniforms and leg chains.

The sources further disclosed that eight kidnapped victims were rescued during the operation.

They said troops are currently holding position within the Kumbodoro forest to consolidate gains from the clearance mission.

In a related development, the sources said troops deployed at Duguri, in collaboration with local vigilantes, recovered 36 cows at Mushen Kura village following information that the animals were roaming the area.

“The cows are suspected to have fled from bandits’ camps due to the ongoing operations and are currently in custody for further action,” the sources said.

They noted that troops’ morale and combat efficiency remain high, while operations continue to deny bandits freedom of action in the region.

Troops clear bandits’ camps, rescue victims, recover arms in Bauchi

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Joint security forces raid herders’ camp in Rivers, recover arms and ammunition

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Joint security forces raid herders’ camp in Rivers, recover arms and ammunition

By: Zagazola Makama

Joint security operatives under the Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation Delta Safe, have raided a suspected herders’ camp in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, recovering arms and ammunition.

Security sources said the operation was carried out at about 1:30 p.m. on April 12 along the IPO community axis by troops of 6 Division Garrison in collaboration with personnel of the Air Force, Navy, Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and Civil Defence Corps.

According to the sources, the raid targeted identified herders’ and cattle rearers’ camps in the area.

They added that items recovered during the operation include one AK-47 rifle, one pump-action gun, 274 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and four mobile phones.

The sources noted that the operation is part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal possession of firearms and enhance security across the Niger Delta region.

Joint security forces raid herders’ camp in Rivers, recover arms and ammunition

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Zulum establishes quarry centre, procures 70 trucks for infrastructure development

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Zulum establishes quarry centre, procures 70 trucks for infrastructure development

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has announced the establishment of a quarry centre in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area, to accelerate infrastructure development in the state.

Zulum made this announcement on Monday while flagging off the distribution of 70 brand-new Howo pickup trucks to the Ministry of Works and the State Road Maintenance Agency (BORMA) at the Government House.

The 70 Howo trucks are designed to boost the operational capacity of the Ministry of Works and its supervising agencies. The trucks will enable the swift delivery of materials to sites and faster intervention on distressed roads.

According to the governor, the quarry centre will provide locally sourced materials including granite, gravel and sharp sand to support ongoing and future road projects, reducing dependence on external suppliers and cutting costs.

“We have achieved a lot in health, education, agriculture, security, and road construction among others. However, we still have challenges of constructing roads within the state, especially in rural communities,” Zulum said.

“My administration has established a quarry plant in Pulka with a processing capacity of 120 tons per hour. The State Government spent at least 3 billion to establish the quarry plant”, he added.

According to the governor, due to the prevailing insecurity, most contractors are not willing to work in Borno.

“You know, no serious contractor will take the risk of deploying his equipment to most of the implementing areas, so this is the reason we are here”, the governor reinstated.

“So, we have no option but to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Works, the capacity of Borno State Road Maintenance Agency (BORMA), the capacity of special projects, monitoring departments and other MDAs that are responsible for road construction.”

The brief ceremony was attended by the Secretary to Borno State Government, Bukar Tijani, Acting Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Mustapha Mallumbe, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works, Engr Baware, BORMA Chairman, Engr Sadu Auno, the Special Adviser on Monitoring and Evaluation, Engr Bukar Gujubawu and other senior officials.

Zulum establishes quarry centre, procures 70 trucks for infrastructure development

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