Court Sentences Four to Death Over Owo Church Terror Attack, Discharges One Defendant
By: Zagazola Makama
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four out of five defendants to death by hanging over their involvement in the June 5, 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
Forty-three worshippers were killed in the attack which shocked the nation and was later investigated as a major terror incident.
The Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned five suspects on a nine-count terrorism charge bordering on alleged membership of foreign terrorist groups and participation in the deadly assault.
Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the prosecution had successfully proved its case against four of the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
The convicted persons are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). They were accordingly sentenced to death by hanging.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), having found insufficient evidence linking him to the offence.
The DSS had alleged that the defendants were members of foreign terrorist organisations and played roles in the planning and execution of the attack on the worship centre, which resulted in mass casualties.
The court’s ruling marks a significant development in the prosecution of suspects linked to one of the deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years.
