(BREAKING) Owo church massacre: Court sentences four to death for terrorism

In a significant ruling, the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four individuals to death by hanging for their involvement in the horrific terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022. The attack claimed the lives of over 40 worshippers and left more than 100 others injured during a Pentecost service.

Justice Emeka Nwite convicted Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25, on nine counts of terrorism. The prosecution, led by the Department of State Services, successfully established the guilt of the four convicts beyond a reasonable doubt. The court found that they were principal members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State and actively participated in the assault on the church.

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the prosecution successfully established the guilt of the four convicts beyond reasonable doubt

The court, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, citing insufficient evidence to link him to the terrorist attack. The prosecution had presented 11 witnesses and 23 exhibits, including confessional statements and digital forensic reports, to build its case.

During the trial, a surviving Catholic priest recounted the harrowing experience, describing how the assailants detonated at least three explosive devices inside the church, causing widespread panic and bloodshed. The prosecution argued that the attackers used improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles to further their extremist religious ideology. Justice Nwite concluded that the totality of the evidence firmly connected the four convicts to the attack, justifying their conviction.

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the evidence before the court clearly showed that they were members of, and active participants in, the activities of the terrorist group responsible for the deadly church attack.