Two months and five days after the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo State, security agencies have arrested five terror suspects and one accomplice.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, who confirmed the arrest of the masterminds in Abuja, yesterday ruled out the possibility of hiring mercenaries to assist the Armed Forces to curtail banditry and terrorism in the country.
Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who expressed delight at the arrest of the suspects, told reporters in Akure, the state capital, that security agencies have been on their trail after the attack.
On June 5, the ancient Owo town was thrown into mourning, following the mass shooting and bomb attack on the church, where over 40 worshippers died.
The Federal Government said the Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) was behind the attack.
The arrested suspects, according to security agents, are Idris Ojo, Jimoh Ibrahim, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, also known as Ibn Malik, Momoh Abubakar, Aliyu Itopa and Awwal Onimisi.
“On August 7, Idris Ojo (37) was apprehended at Aiyetoro Osi in Ondo State. He is one of the high-profile Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) that escaped from Kuje Prison.
“Alongside with him is one Jimoh Ibrahim who is 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 he was perfecting those plans along with his cronies before he was apprehended.
“On August 4, again, the military in a combined operation with the DSS arrested four terrorists at Eika in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
“These are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza otherwise known as Ibn Malik; Momoh Abubakar, Aliyu Itopa and Awwal 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 also in Kogi State, that led to the killing of a policeman as well as weapons being carried away.”
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) urged the Federal Government to prosecute the suspected terrorists arrested by security agencies. The group accused the government of failing to prosecute suspects.
The group said there is no guarantee that the Owo incident would be different because, in the last seven years, no significant terrorist and mass murderers have been successfully prosecuted and jailed.
It added: “Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has no good record of successfully prosecuting terrorists but is notorious for deploying empty media rhetoric to hoodwink undiscerning members of the public to believe that actions are been adopted to deal with terrorists.”