Justice In Motion: DSS Drags 5 Suspects To Court Over Deadly Owo Church Massacre

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five individuals before a Federal High Court in Abuja over their alleged roles in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, a tragedy that claimed over 40 lives and left more than 100 others wounded, according to Ireporter Online.

The accused—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—are facing a nine-count terrorism charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025.

They are alleged to be members of the Al Shabab terrorist group with a cell in Kogi State and to have carried out the deadly assault in pursuit of extremist religious ideology.

According to Ireporter Online, investigators revealed that four of the suspects had confessed to participating in the attack, while the fifth was identified as a willing accomplice.

When the charges were read, all five defendants pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution, led by Calistus Eze, requested that the court remand them in custody, while the defence counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad, sought an order granting the defendants’ families and legal representatives access to them.

He noted they had been in detention since 2022 without contact with relatives or lawyers.

Eze acknowledged that while access is standard practice, it requires a formal written request. Justice Emeka Nwite subsequently ruled that the defendants remain in custody and adjourned the trial to August 19.

According to Ireporter Online, the case has reignited public calls for swift justice in one of the country’s most horrifying terrorist incidents in recent years.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”