A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022 attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers.
The four convicts are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). They were among five defendants standing trial on a nine-count terrorism charge brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence linking him to the offences.
Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the prosecution successfully proved its case against the four defendants beyond reasonable doubt. The court convicted them on all nine counts, including membership of a proscribed terrorist group, conspiracy to commit terrorism, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and participation in the deadly church attack.
The judge found the four men guilty of belonging to Al-Shabab, a terrorist group identified as an affiliate of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and sentenced them to life imprisonment on the first count.
On counts two and three, which relate to conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism, the defendants were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each.
However, on counts four through nine, covering kidnapping, hostage-taking, and the actual execution of the terrorist attack, the court imposed the death penalty by hanging.
The attack occurred on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022, when gunmen invaded Saint Francis Catholic Church during Mass, opened fire on worshippers, and detonated explosive devices. At least 41 people were killed, while dozens of others sustained injuries.
According to the prosecution, the defendants were linked to the attack through witness testimonies, phone tracking records, cell tower analysis, and confessional statements. The suspects were alleged to be members of Al-Shabab, a terrorist group reportedly operating from Okene in Kogi State.
The defendants pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned in August 2025.
During the trial, the DSS presented 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits. Witnesses included survivors of the attack, church members, a Catholic priest who was conducting the Mass, Amotekun operatives, and DSS investigators with digital forensic expertise.
One of the survivors testified from a wheelchair after reportedly losing both legs and an eye during the attack. Several witnesses were allowed to testify under protected identities.
Lead prosecution counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, urged the court to impose the maximum penalty, arguing that the gravity of the offences warranted either death by firing squad or hanging.
In their defence, most of the accused persons testified on their own behalf. Their counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad, challenged the admissibility of the confessional statements, claiming they were obtained through torture and intimidation.
The defendants alleged that DSS operatives subjected them to physical abuse, including beatings and electric shocks, and threatened them with death if they refused to confess.
They further claimed they were promised financial rewards if they implicated the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, as the leader of the operation.
The defence sought a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements, but the request was rejected. The prosecution argued that the defendants had signed and thumb-printed the statements, while the court held that their arguments focused more on denying authorship than proving coercion.
Justice Nwite ruled that the conditions for a trial-within-trial had not been established and proceeded to admit the statements as evidence.
The case, which experienced several delays in its early stages, moved steadily through 2025 and 2026 under Justice Nwite’s supervision.
The Owo church massacre remains one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Nigeria’s recent history. Although no group officially claimed responsibility at the time, security agencies linked the attack to extremists affiliated with the Islamic State network operating in the region.
