BREAKING: Court sentences four terrorists to death over Owo church massacre

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four members of a terrorist group to death by hanging for their involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed dozens of lives and left many others injured.

The convicts, identified as Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25, were found guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.

A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, was discharged by the court after it found insufficient evidence linking him to the attack.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the prosecution had established its case against the four defendants beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge ruled that evidence presented before the court showed that the convicts were members of a terrorist cell operating in Kogi State and actively participated in the attack on the church during a Pentecost service.

The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 40 worshippers, while over 100 others sustained varying degrees of injury.

According to evidence presented in court, the attackers stormed the church, held worshippers hostage and carried out the assault using improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles.

To secure the conviction, the prosecution called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements, a digital forensic examination report and a mobile phone said to contain communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the attack. A Catholic priest who testified before the court recounted how the assailants detonated at least three explosive devices inside the church during the attack.