Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Nearly four years after gunmen and bombers stormed St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, during a Pentecost Sunday service, killing more than 40 worshippers and injuring over 100 others, the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four of the five accused terrorists to death by hanging. The judgment, delivered on Wednesday, 3 June 2026, by Justice Emeka Nwite, found the four convicts guilty on a nine‑count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
Those sentenced to death by hanging are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence linking him to the attack.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution successfully established the guilt of the four convicts beyond reasonable doubt. “The evidence before the court clearly showed that they were members of, and active participants in, the activities of the terrorist group responsible for the deadly church attack,” the judge said.
The court found that the convicts were principal members of an Al‑Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State. They joined the group in 2021, attended planning meetings in Kogi and Ondo states on 30 May and 4 June 2022, and on 5 June invaded the church, holding worshippers hostage while unleashing violence with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK‑47 rifles. The attackers detonated at least three explosives inside the church, triggering panic and bloodshed in what remains one of the deadliest assaults on a place of worship in Nigeria’s recent history.
To prove its case, the prosecution called 11 witnesses, including a Catholic priest who survived the attack and gave a chilling account of the carnage. The prosecution also tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements, a digital forensic examination report, and a Technophone device allegedly containing communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the terror attack.
The trial judge noted that the confessional statements of the defendants had been admitted following a trial‑within‑trial to establish that they were given voluntarily. The prosecution had urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death in view of the enormity of the crime, while the defence counsel prayed for their discharge and acquittal, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish its case.
The attack on St. Francis Catholic Church occurred on 5 June 2022, during the Pentecost Sunday service. The assailants threw explosives at the altar and opened fire on terrified worshippers. Official figures put the death toll at no fewer than 41, with 69 others injured, though some reports placed the number of injured as high as 100. The massacre triggered widespread condemnation across Nigeria and the international community.
The five defendants were arrested in August 2022 at various locations in Kogi and Ondo states, having been tracked using geospatial network filtering technology that isolated phone activity within the attack area. Their trial began on 1 August 2025, and after nearly a year of proceedings, judgment was delivered on 3 June 2026 – a day that brought closure to the families of the 41 victims and hope that justice for one of Nigeria’s most horrific terrorist attacks has finally been served.
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