By Vivian Okejeme
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday sentenced four terrorists to death by hanging for their roles in the horrific June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The infamous massacre, which took place during a Sunday church service, resulted in the immediate deaths of 43 worshippers and left 163 others with severe bodily injuries.
Pronouncing the verdict on the 9-count terrorism charge brought by the Federal Government, Justice Nwite found four of the five defendants guilty on all counts, ordering that they be hanged until they are dead.
However, a fifth defendant was discharged and acquitted of all charges.
The court condemned the following individuals to death: Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25), whereas Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), who had been primarily accused in count six of financing the terrorist operation, was fully discharged and acquitted.
Justice Nwite ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that Abubakar had funded the deadly assault.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite affirmed that the prosecution successfully proved its case against the four convicts, establishing their membership in a proscribed terrorist faction of Al-Shabaab.
The court structured the sentencing across the 9-count charge as follows: on count 1 (terrorist membership) -life imprisonment for the four convicts; counts 2 & 3 (conspiracy & plotting)- 20 years imprisonment for masterminding the attack during a planning meeting held on May 30, 2022, counts 4 & 5 (Terrorist Acts)- full conviction for the first four defendants; acquittal for the fifth, counts 7, 8 & 9 (Mass Murder)- death sentence by hanging for detonating the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that killed the worshippers.
Recall that the five suspects were arraigned in 2025 after being tracked down and arrested across parts of Ebiraland in Kogi State and various areas in Ondo State.
Though they initially pleaded not guilty, the prosecution built a watertight case.
The Department of State Services (DSS) called 11 witnesses to the stand, including survivors who witnessed the attack and intelligence operatives who used phone call locations and network tower data to track down the cell.
The prosecution also tendered 23 exhibits. Crucial among these were the extrajudicial confessional statements made by the convicts during interrogation, which were legally witnessed by Mr. Daniel Hassan, a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council.
While reviewing the evidence, Justice Nwite noted that the four convicts had joined the Al-Shabaab cell in 2021 through a recruiter identified as Odoba.
The group subsequently held a operational meeting at Government High School in Ogaminana, Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, where the plot to launch the catastrophic attack on the Owo church was finalized.
The judge dismissed the convicts’ defense claims that their confessions were extracted under duress or through inducement, ruling that their signatures and thumbprints on the documents invalidated their denials.
Justice Nwite concluded that the DSS evidence was “credible, cogent, positive, verifiable, and compelling,” leaving the court with no option but to hand down the maximum sentence.
The defence chose not to call any witnesses at the close of the DSS case, relying solely on the convicts’ personal testimonies.
