Owo Church Attack: Security Experts Fault FG’s Claim On ISWAP

Some security experts have faulted claims by the federal government that members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province were responsible for last Sunday’s attack at the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

Over 40 people were reported dead including children, gruesomely killed, while 61 injured people are currently receiving medication at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.

But what remains a question, is the identities of the perpetrators as well as the rationale for such an act executed in a relatively peaceful area of the state.

On June 7, the National Security Council (NSC) traced footprints of the attack to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist group.

The terrorist organisation known for its influence in the North-Eastern region of the country is gradually spreading dominance in states like Taraba and Kogi where they had detonated IEDs and later claimed responsibility less than 48 hours after.

Before the Owo attack, members of ISWAP had claimed responsibility for the last explosion in Okene, a town in Kogi State, North Central, less than 3 hours, and 115 km away from Owo, Ondo State.

However, the disclosure by the government was greeted with mixed reactions from security experts including the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu who described the accusation as “too hasty.”

“I take their conclusion with a pinch of salt. ISWAP doesn’t hide their attacks. If they had done it, they would have owned up. We are yet to know their identity and our security people are still on their trail,” he said.

Akeredolu was not alone on this as Vincent Foucher, a Research Fellow with the National Centre for Science Research Institution in France held a similar view.

Foucher told THE WHISTLER that the mode of operation of ISWAP entails publicising successful attacks to show strength.

“If ISWAP is responsible, they will be putting out a claim because the spate of attacks they engaged in Kogi and Taraba away from the North East where they do most of the attacks were publicised by them.

“They make huge efforts to put out claims because if it is not claimed then it’s of no influence at all. Such claims are about showing strength and feeding the tension between North and South, Nigeria.

“As long I am not seeing their claim, I am not going to be considering ISWAP. Also, the new spate of attacks in Kogi and Taraba are very opportunistic, like throwing bombs and going away but we were told that in Owo that a group of attackers with guns and explosives in a sustained attack, operated for a long time, killing several people, which doesn’t seem like what they have done in Kogi and Taraba,” he said.

Foucher noted that the Nigerian government needed to stop making a hasty conclusion because the South West region has other dynamics of crime that may have incited the attack including political thuggery, drug warlord rivalry, kidnapping among others.

But Kabir Adamu, a security expert and founder of Beacon Consulting Limited and Security Intelligence told this website that there was a probability of ISWAP perpetrating the attack.

He said the presence of ISWAP in Kogi State, which shares a common border with Ondo State; the method of the attack which is consistent with the ISWAP modus operandi and an observed attempt by ISWAP to expand its operations are pointers to the fact that the group perpetrated the attack.

Reacting to Foucher’s view that ISWAP is less confrontational, Adamu said, “It is untrue that ISWAP is less confrontational. Its primary target of attack is security forces.”

Recall that the Nigeria Police Force, 24-hours after the Owo attack revealed that the attackers invaded the church with “arms and materials suspected to be explosives.”

Preliminary inquiries by the police showed that that pellets of expended AK-47 ammunition and Explosive Ordnance Devices were recovered from the scene of the incident while fragments of the IEDs and three unexploded IEDs were recovered.

The police added that the gunmen disguised as congregants while others had positioned themselves around the church premises from different directions, firing into the church.

“The assailants fled the scene using a Nissan Sunny car with Reg No. AKR 895 AG which was snatched from the owner, and escaped through Owo/Ute road,” it said.

But a counter-terrorism expert, who would not like to be named on the grounds of “personal safety” told this website it was not in the mode of operation of ISWAP to be among the worshippers.

“The police said they hijacked a car while trying to escape and that they were a part of the congregation that came. ISWAP will not be a part of the congregation to attack, it is not in their signature. These two points alone have forfeited everything.

“And I insist ISWAP is not behind this, and truly we have pockets of ISWAP in Okene (Kogi) and Taraba, they won’t claim responsibility for an attack they didn’t carry out,” he said.

ENDS