Four years after the tragedy, the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The horrific assault, which took place during a Sunday Pentecost service, left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 others injured.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the sentence after convicting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris on a nine-count terrorism charge.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Abubakar, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to link him to the terrorist attack.
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, both welcomed the judgment, stating that true justice has finally been served for the victims.
The Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade, also commended the court’s decision but lamented that the deep scars of the tragedy still remain with the church.
Justice Nwite held that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, establishing that the four convicts were active members of a terrorist cell operating in Kogi State.
The prosecution revealed that the terrorists used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles to hold worshippers hostage and unleash violence in furtherance of their extremist ideology.
To secure the conviction, the government called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements and a mobile device containing communication logs before and after the attack.
A surviving Catholic priest gave a chilling account during the trial, describing how the assailants detonated at least three explosives inside the church, triggering panic and bloodshed.
