A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022, terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite convicted the four defendants on all nine counts of terrorism-related charges brought against them by the Federal Government.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant after finding insufficient evidence to sustain the charges against him.
Those sentenced to death are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25. The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, was cleared of all allegations and released.
The attack occurred during a Sunday service at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, when armed men stormed the worship centre and opened fire on congregants, leaving scores dead and many others injured.
Following the incident, security agencies launched investigations that led to the arrest of five suspects. The Federal Government subsequently arraigned them before the Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism charges.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants belonged to a Kogi State cell linked to the extremist group Al-Shabaab and participated in the attack using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles.
At their arraignment, the defendants applied for bail and urged the court to release them from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). However, the court rejected the application, citing the gravity of the charges and the security implications of the case.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Ayodeji Adedipe, maintained that the defendants were directly involved in planning and executing the deadly attack.
After both parties adopted their final written addresses, Justice Nwite reserved judgment on May 26.
While adopting the prosecution’s final address, Adedipe urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum punishment prescribed by law, arguing that the evidence presented established their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, on the other hand, asked the court to discharge and acquit his clients, contending that the prosecution had failed to prove its case.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite convicted four of the defendants and sentenced them to death by hanging, while acquitting the fifth defendant.
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