The Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, yesterday, August 10, the 2022, disagreed with the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, over the alleged arrest of one of the suspected killers of worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Idris Ojo, insisting that the suspect was one of the escaped prisoners from Kuje Prison.
Idris Ojo, 32, and Jimoh Ibrahim, 39, were named by the CDS as two of the masterminds of the horrific terrorist attack.
He further stated that four more individuals were detained in Eja, Okehi Local Government Area, Kogi State, in relation to the June 5 attack on the Catholic Church in Owo and the attack on a police station in Ada, which resulted in the death of a police officer.
However, Akeredolu, through his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, stated: “There was a mix-up in the declaration made by the Chief of Defense Staff, General Lucky Irabor.
“The attention of Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has been called to the news that Idris Ojo has been identified as one of the attackers of St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo who has been apprehended by the security authorities.
“Governor Akeredolu acknowledged the misunderstanding that his remark has caused in the public sphere, given that the heinous attack on June 5 in Owo preceded the tragic occurrence at Kuje jail.
“General Lucky Irabor, Chief of Defense Staff, made a mistake in his announcement.
“Idris Ojo, number 14 on the wanted list of Kuje Prison escapees, was apprehended at his brother’s home in Akure.
“The announcement of Idris Ojo’s detention as one of the culprits of the June 5 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo was an error on the part of Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor.
“After he escaped from Kuje Prison, his brother Jimoh Ibrahim took him in and provided him with shelter.
“He was then transferred to the hands of the security personnel at the same time the perpetrators of the attack on Owo Catholic Church were captured and taken into jail. Thus the confusion.”