THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT IN ABUJA SENTENCES FOUR TO DEATH BY HANGING OVER OWO CHURCH ATTACK

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.

The convicts are:
- Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25
- Al Qasim Idris, 20
- Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26
- Abdulhaleem Idris, 25

Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the sentence after finding them guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services on behalf of the Federal Government. The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, establishing that the four were principal members of an Al-Shabaab cell operating in Kogi State and active participants in the assault.

The court found that the attackers stormed the church during a Pentecost Sunday service, held worshippers hostage, and carried out the assault using improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles. At least 40 worshippers were killed and over 100 others injured in the massacre. A surviving Catholic priest testified that the attackers detonated at least three explosives inside the church.

During the trial, the DSS called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements, a digital forensic report, and a technophone device allegedly containing communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the attack. The prosecution also relied on witness testimony, phone-tracking data, and cell-tower records. 

A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, was discharged and acquitted after the court ruled the prosecution failed to establish sufficient evidence linking him to the attack.

The four convicts had pleaded not guilty when arraigned in August 2025. The court described the attack as being carried out in pursuit of the group’s extremist religious ideology.

The Owo church massacre remains one of Nigeria’s deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years.

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