The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has 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, which claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers and left over 100 others injured.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, delivered the judgment on Wednesday after convicting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al-Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25, on a nine-count terrorism charge brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a sufficient link between him and the terrorist attack.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution proved its case against the four convicts beyond reasonable doubt, stressing that the evidence presented before the court clearly established their membership and active participation in the terrorist group responsible for the attack.
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The court found that the convicts were key members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State and actively participated in the assault on St. Francis Catholic Church during a Pentecost service.
According to the prosecution, the attackers stormed the church, held worshippers hostage, and unleashed violence that resulted in significant loss of lives and widespread injuries. They were also said to have deployed improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles in carrying out the attack in furtherance of their extremist ideology.
To prove its case, the prosecution presented 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements and a digital forensic examination report.
Among the exhibits admitted by the court was a Technophone mobile device allegedly containing communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the attack.
One of the prosecution witnesses, a Catholic priest who survived the incident, recounted how the assailants detonated at least three explosive devices inside the church, causing panic and bloodshed among worshippers.
Justice Nwite held that the totality of the evidence adduced by the prosecution firmly linked the four convicts to the attack and justified their conviction on all terrorism-related charges.
The judge subsequently sentenced the four defendants to death by hanging, while acquitting and discharging the fifth defendant for lack of sufficient evidence.