The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four terrorists to death by hanging for their roles in the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, which claimed the lives of 43 worshippers and left more than 160 others injured.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Wednesday, finding Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris guilty on multiple terrorism-related charges filed against them.
The court held that the prosecution established beyond reasonable doubt that the convicts participated in planning and executing the deadly attack on the church on June 5, 2022.
According to the judgment, the attackers were members of a proscribed terrorist group and took part in meetings where the attack was planned before carrying out the assault using improvised explosive devices and firearms.
The court found that the explosion and subsequent attack resulted in the deaths of 43 worshippers and caused serious injuries to more than 160 others.
Justice Nwite ruled that the evidence presented against the four convicts was credible and compelling, rejecting claims that their confessional statements were obtained under duress.
The court sentenced the convicts to life imprisonment on one count, 20 years imprisonment on additional counts, and imposed the death penalty on counts relating to the detonation of explosive devices that led to the deaths of worshippers.
The judge ordered that the four men be hanged until dead.
Meanwhile, the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was discharged and acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence linking him to the offences.
The trial followed an extensive investigation and prosecution involving witness testimonies, forensic evidence and confessional statements relating to one of Nigeria’s deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years.
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