A Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgement in the trial of five men accused by the Department of State Services (DSS) of involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. Justice Emeka Nwite announced the decision on Tuesday after hearing the final submissions from both the prosecution and defence teams. Although the matter was adjourned indefinitely, the judge informed counsel that they would be notified once the judgement is ready, adding that the notice could come within 24 hours.
During his final address, counsel to the prosecution, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the death penalty, arguing that the evidence presented established their involvement in one of the deadliest attacks in recent Nigerian history.
Adedipe reminded the court that the attack on the Owo church resulted in the deaths of more than 40 worshippers, left over 100 others injured, and caused significant destruction to the church building.
According to him, “The only dispute is that the defendants, who have been charged for various acts of terrorism, pleaded not guilty and denied their involvement.”
He maintained that the first to fourth defendants made voluntary confessional statements, noting that there was no need for a trial-within-trial because the statements were freely given.
“The first to fourth defendants made voluntary and positive confessional statements and that was why there was no trial within trial in this case, because their confessional statements were voluntary,” Adedipe said.
He further argued that efforts by the defendants to retract their statements were unsuccessful.
“The attempt to retract their confessional statements failed woefully because, as was shown on the face of the statements and established before the court, the first to fourth defendants signed and thumbprinted these statements.
“Throughout the trial, they did not deny the signatures and the thumb prints on their respective statements. They never denied throughout.”
The prosecutor also stated that forensic and investigative reports linking the accused to the Owo attack were not challenged during the trial. He added that eyewitness testimony identified two of the defendants.
“The investigation and forensic reports, which pinned the defendants to the Owo attack, were never challenged by them. The court’s record will show that the second and fourth defendants were identified in court by eyewitnesses, whose evidence was not discredited.”
Addressing the case against the fifth defendant, Adedipe said the prosecution’s position was that he financed the attack rather than participating directly in it.
“As for the fifth defendant, he did not make a confessional statement. He wrote his statement by himself and what he stated was consistent with the prosecution’s case against him, that he was not physically present at the scene of the attack.
“The evidence against him (fifth defendant) is that he sponsored the attack and that the money found in his account is part of the money he used to sponsor the attack.
“He could not justify the source of the money found in his account as shown in the evidence before the court.”
The prosecutor concluded by insisting that the DSS had established its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“For these reasons that I had adumbrated, and the fuller reasons in the final address, we submit that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendants, particularly on the strength of the first to fourth defendants’ confessional statements,” he said.
Adedipe also argued that the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act prescribes the death penalty where terrorist acts result in loss of life.
He noted that more than 40 people were killed in the Owo attack and urged the court to apply the maximum punishment.
“Having established that the defendants were involved, the death sentence must apply,” he argued, adding that “the country was currently battling with the effect of terrorism" and urging the court “not only to convict the defendants but to impose the maximum sentence of death.”
In response, defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammad asked the court to discharge and acquit all five defendants, contending that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations against them.
Unlike the prosecution, Mohammad did not make oral elaborations on his written submissions. He simply adopted the final address filed on behalf of the defendants and urged the court to acquit them.
The defendants standing trial are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.