Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency has come under the spotlight in Abuja as it detailed, step by step, how it unraveled the planning and execution of the deadly June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, during proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

A lead investigator from the Department of State Services, testifying behind a protective shield, told the court how the agency traced the killings that claimed more than 40 lives and left over 100 others injured to a coordinated terror cell operating across Kogi and Ondo states.

The witness, identified only as “SSI” for security reasons, said his team was immediately deployed after the Pentecost Sunday attack to determine who carried it out, how it was organised, and whether there were sponsors, describing the probe as a comprehensive intelligence-driven operation.

According to the testimony, investigators established that the attack was planned days earlier at a meeting held on May 30, 2022, at a government secondary school in Ogaminana, Kogi State, where a terror leader known as Odoba allegedly issued specific instructions to strike a Catholic church on a Sunday and target the priest.

The DSS investigator said intelligence gathered from that meeting and follow-up surveillance led to the arrest of five suspects in August 2022, now standing trial on a nine-count terrorism charge, accused of belonging to an Al-Shabab cell based in Kogi State.

In court, the witness outlined how the agency reconstructed the suspects’ movements, including alleged planning meetings, procurement of firearms and explosives, and pre-attack surveillance, information he said was pieced together through coordinated field operations and intelligence analysis.

He also told the court that the findings revealed lapses exploited by the attackers on the day of the assault, including how weapons were transported to Owo and how the assailants forced their way to the church amid confusion along the route.

The trial judge, Emeka Nwite, adjourned proceedings to allow defence lawyers cross-examine the witness, as the court continues to scrutinise the actions of both the accused and the state’s response to one of the deadliest church attacks in recent years.