Court Hands Death Sentence To Four Convicted In Owo Church Attack

According to Ireporter Online, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four individuals to death by hanging over their involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

The court delivered the ruling on Wednesday in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, following a terrorism trial instituted by the Department of State Services (DSS). Justice Nwite held that the prosecution had successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, leading to the conviction of the defendants four years after the deadly assault.

The judge noted that the convicts were active members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State. He stated that they joined the group in 2021, participated in planning meetings held in Kogi and Ondo States on May 30 and June 4, 2022, and subsequently carried out the attack on June 5, during which worshippers were held hostage and attacked with improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles.

The convicted persons were part of five defendants arraigned on a nine-count terrorism charge linked to the incident. Those sentenced to death include Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). The court, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47).

All the defendants were arrested in August 2022 across different locations in Kogi and Ondo States after they were tracked using geospatial network filtering technology that isolated phone activity linked to the attack site.

The Owo church massacre, which left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 others injured, remains one of the deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years and drew widespread condemnation both within and outside Nigeria.