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A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the June 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed the lives of at least 41 worshippers and left more than 100 others injured.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the prosecution, led by the Department of State Services (DSS), successfully established the charges against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
The court found that the convicted persons were members of the proscribed terrorist group Al-Shabaab and were directly involved in planning and executing the deadly attack on the church.
Justice Nwite convicted the first four defendants on the charge of belonging to a terrorist organisation, holding that the evidence presented by the prosecution clearly linked them to the outlawed group. The fifth defendant was discharged and acquitted on the count.
The judge also convicted the four men on a second count, describing the prosecution’s evidence as credible and unshaken by the defence.
On the third count, the court found the defendants guilty of masterminding the attack through their involvement in a meeting held on May 30, 2022, during which the operation was allegedly planned. The fifth defendant was again discharged and acquitted.
The four convicts were equally found guilty on counts four and five, while the fifth defendant was cleared of all allegations relating to those charges.
On the sixth count, which accused the fifth defendant of financing terrorism connected to the attack, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution failed to establish any link between him and the funding of the operation. He was consequently discharged and acquitted.
Those sentenced to death are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25. The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, was exonerated and freed by the court.
The June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church shocked the nation after gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives during a Sunday service, resulting in one of the deadliest attacks on a place of worship in Nigeria's recent history.
The judgment brings to a close a major terrorism trial and marks a significant milestone in efforts by security agencies and the judiciary to secure justice for victims of the Owo church massacre and their families.
