The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the deadly attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, which claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers on June 5, 2022.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Wednesday, convicting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25) on all nine counts bordering on terrorism, conspiracy, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and murder.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), ruling that the prosecution failed to establish his involvement in the attack beyond reasonable doubt.
The five defendants had been standing trial on charges filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution successfully proved its case against the four convicts through credible evidence, including witness testimonies, phone tracking data, cell tower records, digital forensic evidence, and confessional statements.
The court found the defendants guilty of belonging to a proscribed terrorist group identified as Al-Shabab, described during the trial as an affiliate of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as well as participating in the planning and execution of the Owo church attack.
The prosecution, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ayodeji Adedipe, called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 documents in evidence. Witnesses included survivors of the attack, a Catholic priest who was conducting Mass during the incident, church members, Amotekun operatives, and DSS investigators with digital forensic expertise.
One survivor testified from a wheelchair after reportedly losing both legs and an eye during the attack. Several other witnesses testified under protective measures using coded identities.
The defence challenged the admissibility of the defendants’ confessional statements, alleging that they were obtained through torture and coercion. The accused claimed DSS operatives subjected them to beatings and electric shocks and threatened them with death unless they confessed.
They also alleged that investigators offered them incentives to implicate the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, as the alleged operational leader of the attack.
Following a trial-within-a-trial, the court admitted the confessional statements and ultimately relied on the totality of the evidence presented by the prosecution in reaching its verdict.
The Owo church massacre remains one of Nigeria’s deadliest terrorist attacks in recent years. The assault shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation from within and outside the country. Although no group officially claimed responsibility at the time, security agencies linked the attack to extremist elements associated with ISWAP.
With Wednesday’s judgment, the court imposed the maximum penalty on the four convicted defendants, bringing to a close one of the country’s most closely watched terrorism trials.
