2022 Owo Church Attack: Four terrorists to die by hanging

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday sentenced four terrorists to death by hanging for their roles in the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, in which 43 worshippers were killed.

The convicts are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25.

But the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, was discharged and acquitted of all charges.

Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite found the four defendants guilty on all nine counts filed against them by the Department of State Services (DSS). He ordered that they be hanged until death.

The five defendants were arraigned in 2025 following their arrest in parts of Ebiraland in Kogi State and other areas of Ondo State.

They pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges, prompting the DSS to commence a full trial after obtaining an accelerated hearing order from the court.

During the trial, the DSS called 11 witnesses, including eyewitnesses to the attack and security operatives who relied on call data and network tower analysis to track down the suspects.

The prosecution also tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements made by the defendants during interrogation.

The statements were witnessed by a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council, Mr. Daniel Hassan.

At the close of the prosecution’s case, the defendants chose to defend themselves without calling any witnesses.

In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the DSS had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

He found that the four convicted persons joined the proscribed Al-Shabab terrorist group in 2021 through a man identified as Odoba.

The court further found that the defendants attended meetings at Government High School, Ogaminana, in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, where plans for the attack were conceived, and later finalized the operation at a location near Owo in Ondo State.

Justice Nwite also held that the prosecution established that the convicts detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the attack, killing 43 worshippers and causing injuries to 163 others.

According to the judge, the evidence presented by the DSS was credible, cogent, positive, verifiable and compelling enough to sustain the convictions.

He rejected the defendants’ claims that their confessional statements were obtained under duress or inducement, noting that their signatures and thumbprints on the documents contradicted such assertions.

The judge sentenced the four convicts to life imprisonment on Count One and 20 years imprisonment each on Counts Two and Three.

He further sentenced them to death on Counts Seven, Eight and Nine for detonating IEDs that resulted in the deaths of worshippers.

Justice Nwite subsequently ordered that the four convicts be hanged by the neck until they are dead.

The court, however, found no evidence linking the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, to the offences and accordingly discharged and acquitted him of all nine counts.