The Federal High Court in Abuja sitting on Wednesday has convicted and sentenced four to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, delivered the judgement, stating that the prosecution was able to establish its case against 4 out of the 5 defendants.
Four were found guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).
The four defendants were convicted for belonging to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, holding and attending terrorist meetings for the purposes of supporting a proscribed organization and aiding, abetting and conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks leading to death and grievous bodily harm.
Also, they were convicted of charges bordering on terrorist financing, hostage-taking, being armed with dangerous weapons, threats and possession and use of dangerous weapons, including explosives.
The four sentenced to death were Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25), while the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged due to lack of evidence linking him to the attack.
The defendants were arrested in August 2022 and pleaded not guilty to the 9-count charges.