AFRICA/NIGERIA – A sixth man suspected of participating in the Pentecost massacre has been arrested

Abuja – A sixth man suspected of involvement in the attack on St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022 , has been arrested. He is Sani Yusuf, who was arrested in Edo State after nearly four years on the run.
An arrest warrant had been issued for him in connection with the massacre. Yusuf’s arrest was carried out by the Nigerian Department of State Services , which was tasked with capturing the perpetrators of the St. Francis Xavier Church massacre. The attack killed 40 people, including children, and injured over 160. The DSS investigation has already brought five people to justice. Eleven witnesses testified against Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza , Al Qasim Idris , Jamiu Abdulmalik , Abdulhaleem Idris , and Momoh Otuho Abubakar in the trial that began in August 2025. The defendants pleaded not guilty. According to Nigerian authorities, Yusuf is a high-ranking commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province , a group that emerged from a splinter group of Boko Haram and is responsible for numerous attacks in northeastern Nigeria and parts of the central region. ISWAP primarily operated in the Lake Chad Basin but has long since demonstrated its ability to strike outside its traditional strongholds. During the trial, it emerged that one of the defendants allegedly traveled to Adavi on June 4, 2022, to rent a vehicle and subsequently picked up weapons, including five AK-47 rifles, magazines, ammunition, and improvised explosive devices . The group reportedly conducted a rehearsal before spending the night together before the massacre. On the morning of June 5, the defendants drove to the church in a rented Volkswagen Golf, carrying the weapons hidden in bags. Upon arrival, they opened fire on worshippers attending the Pentecost Mass and detonated explosives. The attack in Owo is considered a turning point for the public’s sense of security in southern Nigeria. While extremist violence had been largely confined to the northeast for over a decade, the attack on a church in Ondo State raised fears that the activities of jihadist groups could spread to other areas previously spared by their attacks.

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