The military, in collaboration with sister security agencies, has arrested the masterminds of the attack on the Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, confirmed this on Tuesday during a meeting with media executives at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Abuja.
St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, was attacked on June 5, leaving scores of worshippers killed and several others injured.
Speaking on Tuesday, Irabor said, “For this interaction, I will like to read out their names and let me say that it is not just the armed forces but the DSS, the police and other intelligence agencies put up efforts to apprehend these criminals who that have put us and indeed the nation on the toes.
“On August 7, Idris Ojo (37) was apprehended at Aiyetorosi in Ondo State. He is one of the high-profile Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) members that escaped from Kuje Prison. Alongside him is one Jimoh Ibrahim, a 39-year-old criminal who was also arrested.
“Idris Ojo was not done with all the criminal activities which he undertook in the past, he was also planning other deadly attacks and was perfecting those plans along with his cronies before he was apprehended.
“On August 4, the military, in a combined operation with the DSS, arrested four terrorists at Eika in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State. They are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, otherwise known as Ibn Malik; Momoh Abubakar, Aliyu Itopa and Auwal Onimisi.
“Now, Omeiza is one of the masterminds of the June 5 Catholic Church attack in Owo, as well as the attack on the police station in Adavi in Kogi State that led to the killing of a policeman as well as weapons carted away.”
Speaking on the Kaduna train attack, the CDS said the military is working to rescue the remaining victims as directed by the president. He explained that the suspects would be paraded to the world in “due course,” stressing that those arrested are behind other daring attacks in the country.
On the forthcoming general election and the worsening insecurity across the country, the CDS assured Nigerians that the elections will proceed as planned, adding that the military, in collaboration with sister security agencies, will ensure that nothing disrupts the poll.
The CDS also reiterated the nation’s armed forces’ commitment to protecting democratic rule in the country.
Confirming the arrest of Owo church attackers, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu warned the Ebira community in the state against venturing into the kidnapping business.
The governor, speaking shortly after General Irabor announced it in Abuja, disclosed that the owner of the house where the attackers were harboured before the dastardly act had also been arrested.
Akeredolu revealed that five of the attackers of St. Francis Catholic Church were apprehended in Kogi State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
