A Federal High Court in Abuja has handed down death sentences to four men found guilty of participating in the deadly terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, an assault that claimed more than 40 lives and left over 100 worshippers injured during a church service in June 2022.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the verdict on Wednesday after finding Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25, Al Qasim Idris, 20, Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26, and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25, guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge brought before the court by the Department of State Services on behalf of the Federal Government.
The court, however, cleared the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, ruling that prosecutors failed to establish sufficient evidence connecting him to the attack.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution proved its case against the four convicted men beyond reasonable doubt, concluding that the evidence presented demonstrated their active membership and participation in the terrorist network responsible for the massacre.
The court found that the convicts belonged to an Al-Shabaab-linked terrorist cell operating from Kogi State and were directly involved in carrying out the attack on the church during a Pentecost service on June 5, 2022.
According to evidence presented before the court, the assailants invaded the church premises, trapped worshippers inside and launched a coordinated assault that resulted in extensive loss of life and injuries.
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Prosecutors told the court that the attackers deployed improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles during the operation, which they carried out in pursuit of an extremist religious agenda.
To support its case, the prosecution called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements allegedly made by the defendants and the findings of a digital forensic investigation.
Among the materials admitted into evidence was a Technophone device said to contain communications exchanged by members of the group before and after the attack.
A Catholic priest who survived the massacre testified for the prosecution, recounting the horror that unfolded inside the church when the attackers allegedly detonated multiple explosive devices, causing chaos, panic and heavy casualties among the congregation.
After reviewing the evidence, Justice Nwite ruled that the prosecution had successfully linked the four men to the planning and execution of the attack, making them liable for the terrorism-related offences brought against them.
The judge subsequently sentenced the four convicts to death by hanging, while discharging and acquitting the fifth defendant.
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