Court sentences four to death over Owo church attack

Abdullateef Fowewe

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday 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, an assault that killed more than 40 worshippers.

Justice Emeka Nwite found Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris guilty on all counts brought by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The four were convicted on a nine-count terrorism charge that included membership of a proscribed terrorist group, conspiracy to commit terrorism, hostage-taking, kidnapping and murder.

A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was discharged and acquitted after the court held that the prosecution failed to prove its case against him.

Prosecution evidence
The DSS, which led the prosecution, relied on witness testimony, phone-tracking data, cell tower records and confessional statements to link the convicted men to the attack.

The agency presented 11 witnesses and tendered 23 documents during the trial.
Witnesses included survivors, church members, the priest who was conducting Mass at the time, Amotekun operatives and DSS investigators with digital-forensic expertise.

Some witnesses testified under protected identities.

Counsel for the prosecution, led by Ayodeji Adedipe, urged the court to impose the maximum penalty, stressing the gravity of the offences and the scale of loss of life.

The defendants’ lawyers challenged the admissibility of the confessional statements, alleging the statements were obtained through torture and coercion.

Defence teams said their clients were beaten, stripped and subjected to electric shocks, and claimed investigators promised rewards for implicating the acquitted co-defendant as the leader of the attack.

Justice Nwite, however, concluded the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the four convicted men and ruled in favour of the DSS on contested evidence issues.

The Owo church attack on June 5, 2022, remains among the deadliest acts of terrorism in recent Nigerian history.

The convicted men were alleged by the prosecution to be members of Al-Shabaab, described in the charge sheet as an ISWAP-affiliated group operating principally in Okene, Kogi State.

The trial experienced several adjournments but moved steadily through 2025 and 2026 before Wednesday’s judgment.

The court’s sentence is subject to any appeals the defence may file.