Olushola Omogbehin
The Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted and sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their involvement in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
They were found guilty on a nine‑count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
They are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). The 5th defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged for want of evidence linking him to the attack.
While delivering his judgment on Wednesday, trial Justice Emeka Nwite expressed his satisfaction that the prosecution proved its case against the four defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
He disclosed that the evidence before the court revealed that the four defendants belonged to and actively participated in the activities of the terrorist group, which included the church attack.
The Owo attack was carried out while the church celebrated Pentecost and it resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people and serious injuries to over 100 others.
It was alleged that they used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK‑47 rifles to perpetrate the attack in furtherance of their religious ideology.
The evidence presented before the court are, confessional statements, a digital forensic examination report, tendered alongside a Technophone alleged to contain communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the terror attack.
