BREAKING: Four Sentenced to Death Over Owo Church Attack, One Freed by Court

A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their involvement in the deadly June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, where over 40 worshippers were killed.

Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the prosecution, led by the Department of State Services (DSS), successfully proved the terrorism charges against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.

The convicts are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). However, the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence linking him to the attack.

The court held that the four convicted men were guilty of offences including conspiracy to commit terrorism, membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and direct participation in the assault on worshippers during the church service.

Justice Nwite relied on multiple pieces of evidence presented during the trial, including witness testimonies, phone tracking data, cell tower records, and confessional statements tendered by the prosecution.

According to the DSS, the defendants were associated with a terrorist group identified as Al-Shabaab, described in court as operating as an affiliate of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), with activities reportedly based in parts of Kogi State.

The defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty when arraigned in August 2025.

During the proceedings, the prosecution called 11 witnesses and submitted 23 exhibits. These included survivors of the attack, a Catholic priest who officiated the Mass during the incident, church members, Amotekun operatives, and DSS digital forensic experts.

Some witnesses testified under protective arrangements using coded identities, while a survivor who appeared in a wheelchair due to severe injuries also gave emotional testimony before the court.

The defence team argued that the confessional statements attributed to the accused were obtained under duress, alleging torture, beatings, electric shocks, and coercion. This led the court to conduct a trial-within-a-trial to determine their admissibility, after which the statements were accepted as evidence.

Prosecution counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, urged the court to impose the maximum punishment under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, citing the severity of the attack.

The Owo church massacre, which claimed dozens of lives in 2022, remains one of the most devastating assaults on a place of worship in Nigeria’s recent history and triggered widespread national outrage.