Nearly four years after gunmen massacred worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja has delivered judgment. The court sentenced four men to death by hanging for their involvement in the terrorist attack that killed almost four dozen people, injured many, and left some survivors wheelchair-bound or limbless.
The killings drew global condemnation.
The convicts, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris, were found guilty of terrorism charges filed by the Federal Government through the Department of State Services. Justice Emeka Nwite held that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence linking the defendants to the attack and to activities within a terrorist network. A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was discharged and acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence.
Court records and trial testimony showed that the attackers stormed the church armed with rifles and explosives, opening fire and detonating bombs as congregants worshipped. A surviving Catholic priest recounted how explosions rocked the church mid-service. The prosecution maintained that the convicted men were members of a terrorist cell operating from Kogi State and played active roles in planning and executing the assault. To prove its case, the prosecution presented 11 witnesses and 23 exhibits, including alleged confessional statements, forensic reports, and electronic evidence — among them a mobile device containing communications exchanged before and after the attack.
OIOA Welcomes Judgment, Recalls Early Outcry
Owo Is One Association (OIOA), a non-political frontline body committed to protecting the socio-economic interests and heritage of the Owo Kingdom, said the judgment vindicated its demand for accountability.
On June 6, 2022, a day after the attack, OIOA went public with protests and press conferences at Victoria Island, Lagos, and at Owo Town Hall. The association had earlier paid condolence visits to the priests of St. Francis Catholic Church, the Olowo-in-Council, and the late Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, to express outrage over the unprovoked attack on innocent worshippers and the people of Owo.
Reacting to the judgment, OIOA Deputy National Coordinator, Chief Abimbola Fabolude, who was one time the Executive Chairman of Owo Local Government Council, expressed gratitude to security agencies for thoroughly investigating the perpetrators and prosecuting them to the full extent of the law. He affirmed confidence in the judiciary, stating that justice had prevailed despite the three-year wait.
OIOA Media Head, Olatunbosun Oladimeji, said in the same statement that the victims would be celebrating this judgment in their eternal rest, if there is life beyond. He added that their loved ones, the entire Owo community, and Catholic faithful worldwide would glorify the Lord God of judgment and vengeance, believing that He who is a jealous God has counted the bones of the departed and will raise them again.
The judgment brings to a close one of the most high-profile terrorism trials arising from the attack that shocked Nigeria and drew widespread condemnation at home and abroad.