Four Owo Church Terrorists Sentenced to Death

​The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their roles in the horrific June 5, 2022, massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. The catastrophic assault claimed the lives of over 40 worshippers and left more than 100 others with severe injuries.

​Presiding Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, delivered the landmark judgment following the conviction of Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). The defendants were found guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.

​Conversely, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, 47-year-old Momoh Otuho Abubakar, citing insufficient evidence to conclusively link him to the targeted attack.

​In his ruling, Justice Nwite affirmed that the prosecution team successfully established the guilt of the four convicts beyond any reasonable doubt. He emphasized that the forensic and circumstantial evidence presented before the court explicitly verified their membership and active participation in the extremist cell.

​According to judicial records, the convicts operated as principal actors within an Al-Shabaab terrorist network based in Kogi State. The group targeted the religious sanctuary during a crowded Pentecost Sunday service, detonating at least three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and opening fire on helpless worshippers with AK-47 rifles to advance their radical ideological agenda.

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​To secure the conviction, the prosecution called 11 witnesses—including a Catholic priest who survived the bloodbath—and tendered 23 critical exhibits. Notably, these exhibits included detailed confessional statements and a digital forensic report compiled from a mobile device, which exposed coordination and communication logs shared among the convicts both before and after the coordinated assault.

​Justice Nwite ruled that the comprehensive evidentiary submission provided an undeniable link between the activities of the four individuals and the tragic events in Owo, thereby justifying the ultimate statutory penalty.