The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in the terrorism trial of five men accused of involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. The defendants, Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Abubakar,……
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in the terrorism trial of five men accused of involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The defendants, Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Abubakar, are facing a nine-count terrorism charge filed against them by the Department of State Services.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed judgment for a date to be communicated to parties after counsel for both the prosecution and defence adopted their final written addresses and argued their positions before the court.
The judge informed lawyers that the court would notify them once the judgment was ready, indicating that notice could be issued within 24 hours.
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During proceedings, prosecuting counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the death penalty, citing the gravity of the alleged offence.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, however, asked the court to discharge and acquit the accused persons, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations against them beyond reasonable doubt.
No fewer than 41 worshippers were reportedly killed during the attack on the Catholic church in Owo, while more than 140 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The trial, which commenced on August 1, 2025, saw the DSS present 11 witnesses in support of its case against the defendants.
The court had earlier admitted confessional statements made by the suspects after conducting a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statements were voluntarily obtained.
At the beginning of the proceedings, the DSS had requested accelerated hearing of the case, a request that was granted by the court.
