The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced to death four out of the five terrorists who attacked the Saint Francis Catholic Church, Owo, in Ondo state in 2022, in which 43 worshipers were killed.
The four that will die by hanging are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25 years), Al Qasim Idris (20 years), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26 years), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25 years, while Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47 years) was discharged and acquitted of all the charges.
Justice Emeka Nwite pronounced the four terrorists guilty in the entire 9 count charges brought against them by the Department of State Service, DSS, and ordered that they be hanged until they are dead.
The pronouncement of a death sentence was in a judgment delivered by the Judge on Wednesday.
Five accused persons were arraigned in 2025 before the state court following their arrest in some parts of Ebiraland in Kogi State and other areas of Ondo State.
During the arraignment, they pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges, prompting the DSS to open their full-blown trial, having secured an accelerated trial order from the court.
At the trial, the DSS called a total of 11 witnesses, comprising both eyewitnesses during the attack and security operatives who used call locations and network towers to fish out the convicts.
The secret police also tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional extra-judicial statements made by the convicts during interrogation that were witnessed by a Legal Aid Council lawyer, Mr Daniel Hassan.
At the close of the DSS case, the convicts elected to defend themselves without calling any witnesses to support their defence.
However, while reviewing the DSS case, Justice Nwite found that the four convicted persons in 2021 joined a proscribed Al-Shabab terrorist group through one Odoba and held a meeting at Government High School in Ogaminana in Adavi local government area of Kogi, where the decision to launch an attack against the Catholic Church was hatched.
The court also found as a fact that the final onslaught against the church was perfected at a place near Owo in Ondo State.
Similarly, the Judge held that the DSS established beyond a reasonable doubt that the four convicted persons detonated an improvised explosive device that killed 43 people instantly and caused bodily harm to 163 other worshippers.
Besides, the Judge said that the evidence against the convicted persons was credible, cogent, positive, verifiable and compelling to warrant their convictions.
Justice Nwite dismissed the claims of the convicted persons that their extrajudicial statements were made under duress and inducement, adding that their signatures and thumbprints on the statements cannot support their denIal.
He therefore sentenced the four convicted persons to life imprisonment in count one, 20 years in counts two and three and sentenced them to death in counts 7 to 9 upon being found guilty of detonating improvised explosive devices that killed the worshippers.
The Judge ordered that they be hanged by the neck until they are dead.
However, the 5th defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was exonerated in the 9-count charges and was subsequently discharged and acquitted of the charges.
Some counts in the charge read: “That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar adults, males, with others still at large, sometime in 2021, did join and became members of AL Shabab Terrorist Group, with cell in Kogi State and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 25(1) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 30th May, 2022; 37 June, 2022 and 4 June, 2022, at Government Secondary School, Ogamirana, Adavi LGA, Kogi State and behind Omialafa Central Mosque, Ose LGA, Ondo State, respectively, attended and held meetings, where you agreed to and planned for the terrorist attack, which you carried out on 5™ June, 2022, at St. Francs Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12(a) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, with intent to further your religious ideology and while armed with IEDs and AK 47 rifles, did attack worshippers, held them hostage and in the process, caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons, including Onileke Ayodele, John Blessing, Nselu Esther and Ogungbade Peter and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 24(2)(a) of the same Act.
“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, had in your possession IEDs and AK 47 rifles, with which you attacked worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, held them hostage, killed over 40 persons and caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2(1)(2) and (3)(v) and punishable under Section 24(1) and (2) of TPPA, 2022.
“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, with intent to cause death, did detonate Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which led to the death of over 40 persons, including: Ajanaku John; Onuoha Deborah; Onileke Esther and John Bosede and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 42 (a)(ii) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, did detonate Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons, including: Onuchukwu Happiness, Ogungbade Vivan and Nnakwe Paschaline Ugochinyerem and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 42(a)(i) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
