The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, an incident that left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 others injured.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite convicted Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25, on a nine-count terrorism charge brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
The court, however, acquitted and discharged the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, after ruling that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence linking him to the attack.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, establishing that the four convicted individuals were active members of the terrorist cell responsible for the deadly assault on the church.
According to the court's findings, the convicts were principal members of an Al-Shabaab-linked terrorist network operating in Kogi State and participated directly in the attack on worshippers during a Pentecost service.
Prosecutors told the court that the attackers stormed the church, held worshippers hostage, and carried out a coordinated assault that resulted in significant loss of life and widespread injuries. The terrorists were said to have deployed improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles during the attack in pursuit of their extremist ideology.
To support its case, the prosecution presented 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements and a digital forensic report. Among the evidence admitted by the court was a mobile device allegedly containing communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the attack.
One of the prosecution's key witnesses, a Catholic priest who survived the massacre, recounted the horrifying events of the day, describing how multiple explosive devices were detonated inside the church, causing panic and devastating casualties among worshippers.
Justice Nwite concluded that the totality of the evidence presented before the court firmly connected the four defendants to the attack, warranting their conviction and the ultimate sentence under Nigeria's terrorism laws.
The Owo church attack remains one of Nigeria's deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years and sparked widespread national and international condemnation at the time.
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