The attack claimed over 40 lives and left many worshippers injured. Five suspects — Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) — are currently facing prosecution for alleged terrorism.
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested the sixth suspect in the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The attack claimed over 40 lives and left many worshippers injured. Five suspects — Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) — are currently facing prosecution for alleged terrorism.
The newly arrested suspect, Sani Yusuf, had been on the run for nearly four years, making him one of Nigeria’s most wanted fugitives. DSS operatives captured him in Iguosa community along Powerline in Ovia North Local Government Area, Edo State.
Yusuf is reportedly a high-ranking commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
A security source said Yusuf first fled to Kano after the Owo church attack before moving to Edo State.
He has confessed to planning and executing the church massacre and admitted involvement in other ISWAP attacks, including the July 2022 Suleja military barracks assault and multiple kidnappings in Kaduna State.
“He confirmed his role in the Owo church attack, the Zuma Rock checkpoint attack which killed five soldiers, and several ISWAP kidnappings,” the source said.
The source added that Yusuf operated under other top ISWAP commanders, including Abu Ikirimah, who was arrested by the DSS in 2024.
A security official described the arrest as “a significant milestone in delivering justice for the victims of the Owo church attack and the Zuma Rock soldiers, highlighting the DSS’s relentless fight against terrorism.”
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