The arrest of the alleged suspects linked with the dastardly massacre at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State is generating controversies.
Earlier, the Chief of Defense Staff General Lucky Irabor had at a Press Conference announced the arrest of five suspects linked with the attack.
The news was also corroborated by the Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu at a later press briefing.
The duo at separate press conferences confirmed that the suspects were arrested through a joint operation of all the security agencies.
While the governor and the Chief of Defence Staff failed to provide full information on the identities of the arrested suspects, Adegbenro Adebanjo, a former Chief Press Secretary in Ogun State and veteran Journalist took to his official Facebook page to reveal the photos of alleged perpetrators of the attack with some posers;
“Owo Killings: The Five Men Arrested by Security Agents. Investigations Continue. The questions; What’s the motive? Who sent them and why? He asked
According to the Facebook Post, the names of the arrested suspects are; Abdulmannan Obadiki; Ishaq Farouk; Abdulazeez Obadiki; Idris Ojo; Abdulkareem Musa. The details provided also indicated that all the suspects hailed from Kogi State, North Central and from the Ebira/Igbira Ethnic group in Nigeria.
That’s where the controversies began. Hours after Irabor announced the arrests of five suspects allegedly involved in the June 5 massacre at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, Governor Akeredolu pointed out that one out of the five suspects arrested, Idris Ojo is not part of the masterminds of the attack.
The governor in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, on Wednesday, said that Idris Ojo one of the alleged suspects arrested in connection with the massacre was actually one of the Kuje Jail break inmates who had earlier escaped but was declared wanted by the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
While admitting the mix-up from the Chief of Defence Staff, Akeredolu however urged members of the public to remain vigilant and give necessary support to the security agencies in the State.
The statement reads; “The announcement of the arrest of Idris Ojo as one of the perpetrators of the June 5 attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo was a mix-up from the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor,” the statement added.
“Idris Ojo, who is number 14 on the wanted list of the Kuje Prison Escapees was arrested in his brother’s house in Akure. His brother, Jimoh Rasheed Ibrahim, received and accommodated him after his escape from Kuje Prison.
“He was thereafter moved and kept in the custody of the security operatives at the same time the attackers of Owo Catholic Church were arrested and brought into custody. Hence, the mix-up.”
Also, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) clarified the statement made by Irabor, on the arrest of the masterminds of the recent attack at a church in Owo, Ondo state.
The DHQ in a statement on Wednesday clarified that only one, of the five recently arrested terrorists, was linked to the attack on the Owo church.
This was a stark contrast to his earlier report that five masterminds of the June 5 massacre in the state had been captured by security operatives.
He made the clarification at a second CDS’ parley with media executives and editors, which took place at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Abuja on Tuesday 9 August 2022.
In the Wednesday statement by the defence spokesperson, Jimmy Akpor, the DHQ said Idris Abdulmalik-Omeiza was the mastermind of the church attack and not Idris Ojo.
He added that Mr Ojo was one of the Boko Haram terrorists who escaped from Kuje prison and has no link to the attack at Owo.
“The Defence Chief said, preliminary investigation revealed that Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza was the mastermind of the terror attack on the Owo Catholic Church as well as the attack on a Police Station in Adavi LGA, Kogi State on 23 June 2022, during which a policeman was killed and weapons carted away.
“The Defence Chief also mentioned the arrest of another terrorist, Idris Ojo (32 years), who was apprehended at Ayetoro Osi, Ondo State through the combined effort of military and DSS personnel on 7 August 2022. Idris Ojo, the CDS said, was one of the suspected ISWAP terrorists who escaped from the Kuje Medium Correctional Centre highlighted on 5 July 2022,” the official wrote.
