In a landmark ruling that brings a somber sense of closure to one of Nigeria’s most devastating tragedies, a Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four individuals to death for their roles in the 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite sentenced the four individuals to death by hanging for carrying out the Owo church massacre.
The convicts were among the five accused persons who had been standing trial on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), in connection with the attack at the church where over 40 worshippers were killed, and over 100 suffered varying degrees of injury.
They are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25).
Over 40 people were killed and many were injured during the attack at the church.
The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted.
Reading his verdict on Wednesday, Justice Nwite convicted the four defendants on all nine counts of committing acts of terrorism in breach of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, citing crimes including membership of a proscribed terrorist group — Al-Shabab (an ISWAP affiliate), conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, and kidnapping, hostage-taking, and killing over 40 worshippers.
He held that the prosecution proved its case against the convicts beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nwite, however, held that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the fifth defendant.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the federal government alleged that the suspects joined the Al-Shabaab terrorist group in 2021 and operated a cell in Kogi state.
According to the prosecution, the defendants held meetings in Kogi and Ondo in 2022, where they planned the church attack.
They were accused of detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and carrying out the assault with AK-47 rifles, resulting in the deaths of over 40 people and injuries to more than 100 others.
The government said the attack was carried out to further the group’s religious ideology, offences punishable under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
To prove the case, the prosecution called 11 witnesses who testified before the court and tendered 23 exhibits in evidence.
Among the items the court admitted in evidence were confessional statements and a digital forensic examination report, tendered alongside a Techno phone alleged to contain communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the terror attack.
Testifying as the first prosecution witness, a Catholic priest, who presided over the Pentecost Sunday mass, testified that the church service was about to end when gunshots suddenly rang out, causing panic among worshippers.
The priest said he heard explosions and continuous gunfire, describing the scene as chaotic and terrifying.
He said many worshippers were killed and injured, and likened the experience to the ground opening beneath them.
The second prosecution witness had identified the second and fourth defendants as part of those who attacked worshipers.
The third defendant, a church member and a student had told the court how explosives detonated during the attack damaged her left leg, which made her undergo four surgeries on the leg and skin grafting.
She also said her two-year-old cousin died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The fourth witness had lost her two legs above the knees, and her left eye during the attack.
