BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS
A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the deadly attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed dozens of lives and left many others injured.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Emeka Nwite convicted and sentenced Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris after finding them guilty of terrorism-related offences linked to the June 5, 2022 church attack.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, on all nine counts filed against him.
Justice Nwite held that the prosecution, led by the Department of State Services (DSS), successfully established beyond reasonable doubt that the four convicts were members of a terrorist network and actively participated in planning and executing the attack on worshippers at the Catholic church.
According to the judgment, evidence presented before the court showed that the convicts joined the terrorist group in 2021 through a recruiter identified as Odoba and later participated in meetings where the attack was conceived and coordinated.
The court found that one of the planning meetings took place at a government secondary school in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, while final arrangements for the attack were made near Owo in Ondo State.
Justice Nwite ruled that the prosecution presented compelling evidence linking the defendants to the attack, which resulted in the deaths of about 40 worshippers and injuries to more than 100 others.
During the trial, the DSS called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 documentary exhibits, all of which were admitted by the court. The defendants testified in their own defence but did not call additional witnesses.
The judge rejected claims by the convicts that their confessional statements were obtained through coercion and inducement, noting that the signatures and thumbprints on the statements contradicted those allegations.
For counts relating to membership of a terrorist organisation, conspiracy, and participation in terrorist meetings, the court sentenced each of the four convicts to 20 years imprisonment.
However, for the more serious offences—including hostage-taking, unlawful possession of dangerous weapons, terrorism financing, use of explosive devices in public places, and causing grievous harm and deaths—the court imposed the death penalty by hanging.
The judgment marks a major milestone in the prosecution of those responsible for one of Nigeria’s deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years and underscores ongoing efforts by security agencies and the judiciary to hold perpetrators of terrorism accountable.
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2026-06-04
