Nearly four years after the deadly attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, a Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four terrorists to death by hanging for their roles in the massacre that claimed dozens of lives and left scores injured.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, convicted four of the five defendants arraigned by the Department of State Services (DSS) over the June 5, 2022 attack, which killed 41 worshippers and injured about 140 others during a church service.
The convicts are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25. The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, was discharged and acquitted on all nine counts after the court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a case against him.
Justice Nwite held that the DSS successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt that the four convicts participated in acts of terrorism contrary to the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The judge found them guilty of terrorism-related offences, including membership of Al-Shabab, a faction linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, planning and executing the Owo church attack, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and the killing of worshippers.
In his ruling, the judge convicted the first to fourth defendants on counts relating to membership of a terrorist organisation and conspiracy to carry out the attack, while consistently discharging and acquitting the fifth defendant on all counts brought against him.
The court also dismissed allegations that Abubakar financed the attack, ruling that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the claim.
The trial, which commenced on August 1, 2025, featured testimonies from 11 prosecution witnesses called by the DSS.
One of the key witnesses, a DSS Deputy Director of Terrorism Investigations identified in court as PW9, narrated how the attack was allegedly planned and executed.
According to the witness, members of the terror cell held a meeting on May 30, 2022, at Government Secondary School, Ogaminana, in Kogi State, where a suspected terror leader identified as Odoba allegedly instructed members to attack St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo and kill the priest in charge.
The witness told the court that a follow-up meeting was held days later where the operational details were finalised before weapons, including AK-47 rifles, ammunition, and improvised explosive devices, were supplied to members of the group.
He further testified that the attackers travelled to Owo in a Volkswagen Golf vehicle loaded with weapons before launching the assault on worshippers during Sunday Mass.
According to the DSS investigator, the attackers opened fire indiscriminately both outside and inside the church, while also deploying explosive devices.
The attack, regarded as one of Nigeria’s deadliest assaults on a place of worship, left over 40 people dead and about 140 others injured.
During the trial, one of the defendants, Omeiza, denied involvement and narrated how he was arrested by DSS operatives in Kogi State in August 2022.
He told the court that he voluntarily made statements while in custody and maintained that he was interrogated over the Owo church attack alongside other suspects.
In his final address, prosecution counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), urged the court to impose the maximum punishment, arguing that the evidence presented established the defendants’ culpability beyond doubt.
Adedipe said the prosecution’s case reflected the determination of security agencies to ensure accountability for one of the most devastating terrorist attacks against innocent worshippers in Nigeria’s history.
Defence counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad, however, asked the court to acquit the defendants, insisting that the prosecution failed to sufficiently link them to the crime.
But Justice Nwite agreed with the prosecution’s submissions and sentenced the four convicts to death by hanging.
The court held that the attack was carried out in furtherance of the convicts’ extremist religious ideology and constituted a grave act of terrorism against innocent citizens.
The judgment brings to a close a high-profile trial that followed the June 2022 massacre, which shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation from religious leaders, civil society groups, and the international community.
