A Nigerian court sentenced four gunmen to death for their role in the 2022 attack on a church in the country’s southwest which claimed the lives of at least 50 people.
The assault occurred on 5 June 2022 as mass concluded at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo in Ondo state. Many children were among those killed and scores more wounded, overwhelming local hospital staff.
The four individuals were found guilty of terrorism charges but a fifth defendant was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors alleged that the convicted men were members of the al-Shabab militant group, operating from a cell located in Kogi state, northcentral Nigeria, about 200km from the nation’s capital.
The sentencing followed a major mass trial in April when more than 300 terrorism suspects were convicted within a four-day period.
Nigeria continues to grapple with a complex and severe security crisis, particularly in its northern regions.
An insurgency has plagued the area for over a decade, with armed groups frequently carrying out kidnappings for ransom. Prominent among these are Boko Haram, its Isis-affiliated breakaway faction known as the Islamic State West Africa Province, and the Isis-linked Lakurawa group, which operates in northwestern communities bordering Niger.
