DSS witness explains how Owo church attack suspects were tracked and arrested

A forensic officer of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Abuja how operatives used geospatial tracking and call data analysis to trace and arrest suspects linked to the 5 June 2022 attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

Testifying as the 11th prosecution witness before Justice Emeka Nwite, the operative, identified in court as “SSK” for security reasons, said he heads the Digital Forensic Unit of the DSS Counter-Terrorism Investigation Department.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, the witness said investigators relied on cell tower triangulation, geospatial filtering, and analysis of International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) data to identify mobile devices active around Owaluwa, Elegbeka, and Ifon on the day of the attack.

According to him, investigators isolated a phone number linked to the first defendant, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza.

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Through IMEI tracking — a unique identifier assigned to every mobile device — operatives were able to trace and arrest him. His arrest subsequently led to the apprehension of four other suspects.

The DSS arraigned five defendants — Omeiza; Al Qasim Idris; Jamiu Abdulmalik; Abdulhaleem Idris; and Momoh Otuho Abubakar — on terrorism-related charges.

The witness told the court that forensic analysis revealed communication between the first defendant and two others, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Al Qasim Idris, between 1 March and 30 July 2022.

“They exchanged several communications before and after the incident,” he said, adding that the analysis established operational links among the defendants.

The prosecution tendered a forensic report and a Tecno mobile phone allegedly recovered from the first defendant. Both were admitted into evidence as Exhibits T and U without objection from defence counsel Abdullahi Muhammad.

The witness said the IMEI of the recovered device matched records obtained from telecommunications data.

He further testified that at about 7:23am on the day of the attack, the first defendant’s phone was located within a 35-kilometre radius of the crime scene. Although no calls were made at that time, the device remained active and later moved towards Ifon shortly after the incident.

Investigators also reviewed location data from 3 and 4 June 2022, which placed the device within the Elegbeka and Ifon areas ahead of the attack.

Under cross-examination, the witness said it took more than one month to trace and arrest the first defendant, who was apprehended in Eika, Kogi State. He added that the other defendants were arrested in August 2022 across Kogi and Ondo states.

He explained that only the Tecno device was presented in court due to its relevance to the investigation.

Following his testimony, the prosecution formally closed its case.

Earlier, the 10th prosecution witness told the court that statements were obtained individually from the first to fourth defendants on 18 August 2022 after they indicated they were not proficient in written English. He said the process lasted about 10 hours.

Defence counsel said he intends to call only the defendants as witnesses and requested access to the fifth defendant’s statement, as well as time to consult with his clients currently in DSS custody.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until 4 and 5 March for the defence to open its case.