The Nigerian Military on Thursday said that two more terrorists suspected to be members of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) have been arrested in connection with the June attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian army and the State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Tuesday confirmed that about five terrorists linked to the attack were arrested in the State.
However, in a statement issued by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, on Thursday, the Nigerian military high command disclosed that two additional terrorists, who killed over 40 worshippers in the church on June 5 have been nabbed.
He stated that the suspected terrorists were arrested at Omialafara (Omulafa), Ose Local Government Area, Ondo State, on Tuesday through the joint efforts of the military and the Department of State Services, DSS.
The statement reads partly, “Barely few hours after the disclosure by the CDS of the arrest of four of the Owo Catholic Church attackers, two additional ISWAP terrorists, who were also connected to the attack on the church were apprehended at Omialafara (Omulafa), Ose LGA, Ondo State on Tuesday, 9 August 2022.
“The arrests were made through the collaborative effort by military and DSS personnel. The suspects are Al-Qasim Idris and Abdulhaleem Idris.
“It is instructive to note that Abdulhaleem, alongside other high profile ISWAP Commanders, had also previously coordinated attacks on military targets in Okene, Okene LGA, Kogi State resulting in casualties”.