Four persons suspected of being involved in the attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, have been sentenced to death by hanging.
The suspects were convicted and sentenced by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
Over 40 worshippers were killed, and over 100 suffered varying degrees of injury during the deadly attack on June 5, 2022.
The convicts are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25).
They were among the five indicted persons who had been standing trial on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), in connection with the attack at the church.
The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted.
Justice Nwite, in his ruling, convicted the four defendants on all nine counts of committing acts of terrorism in breach of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, stressing that the prosecution proved its case against the convicts beyond a reasonable doubt.
He cited crimes including membership of a proscribed terrorist group — Al-Shabab (an ISWAP affiliate), conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, and kidnapping, hostage-taking and killing over 40 worshippers.
Nwite, however, held that the prosecution failed to substantiate its case against the fifth defendant.
The attack and killing of worshippers at the Catholic Church in the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State sparked widespread outrage and condemnation, with various individuals and groups demanding that the government ensure the assailants were arrested and brought to justice.
During the trial that started on August 1, 2025, the DSS called witnesses to corroborate the allegations against the defendants.
The trial court admitted the confessional statements of the defendants following the conclusion of the trial- within-trial conducted to establish that the witnesses’ statements were voluntarily given.
In his final submission, counsel for the prosecution, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), had prayed the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death in view of the severity of the crime they allegedly committed.
Adedipe had argued that the prosecution meticulously and painstakingly established its case against the defendants through compelling evidence and detailed investigations, which he said reflected the determination of security agencies to ensure accountability for one of the deadliest attacks on innocent worshippers in Nigerian history.
But counsel for the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, prayed the court to discharge and acquit his clients because the prosecution was unable to establish its case against them.
