The Federal High Court in Abuja has handed down death sentences to four individuals found guilty of orchestrating the 2022 attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed 43 lives. The convicted terrorists—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris—were condemned to hang for their roles in the massacre. A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was acquitted of all charges and released.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who presided over the case, ruled that the four guilty parties were involved in planning and executing the assault. The court established that they had joined the proscribed Al-Shabab terrorist group in 2021 and held meetings at Government High School in Ogaminana, Kogi State, where the attack was conceived. Later, the final preparations were completed near Owo in Ondo State.
The judge determined that the Department of State Services (DSS) provided conclusive evidence, including testimonies from 11 witnesses and 23 exhibits, such as confessional statements made by the convicts during interrogation. The court dismissed claims that these statements were coerced, noting that signatures and thumbprints on the documents confirmed their voluntary nature.
Beyond the death penalty for the most serious counts related to detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that killed worshippers, the convicts also received life imprisonment for count one and 20-year sentences for counts two and three. The judge ordered that they be hanged by the neck until dead.
Meanwhile, Momoh Otuho Abubakar was found innocent across all nine charges and was discharged. The charges included joining a terrorist organization, planning and carrying out the attack, possessing illegal weapons, and causing mass casualties. Specifically, the indictment detailed that the defendants, with others at large, used IEDs and AK-47 rifles to attack the church on June 5, 2022, resulting in 43 deaths and injuries to 163 others.