Owo Church attack: Court sentences four to death by hanging

The Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted and 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.

Those found guilty on a nine‑count terrorism charge the Department of State Services (DSS) filed on behalf of the Federal Government were Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25), while the 5th defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged for want of evidence linking him to the attack.

Delivering judgment in the matter on Wednesday, trial Justice Emeka Nwite said he was satisfied that the prosecution proved its case against the four defendants beyond reasonable doubt.

He held that evidence before the court established that the four defendants belonged to and actively participated in the activities of the terrorist group, which included the church attack.

The attack, carried out while the church celebrated Pentecost, resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people and serious injuries to over 100 others.

The court was told that the defendants, who were principal members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State, invaded the church and held worshippers hostage, during which they caused extensive destruction.

It was alleged that they used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK‑47 rifles to perpetrate the attack in furtherance of their religious ideology.

To prove the case, the prosecution called 11 witnesses that testified before the court and tendered 23 exhibits in evidence.

Among the items the court admitted in evidence were confessional statements and a digital forensic examination report, tendered alongside a Technophone alleged to contain communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the terror attack.

Some of those that testified before the court were a Catholic priest who gave a blood-chilling account of how the assailants detonated no fewer than three explosives inside the church.