Four men have been sentenced to de.ath by hanging by the Federal High Court in Abuja for their involvement in the de.adly June 5, 2022 terror!st atta.ck on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which left over 40 worshippers de.ad and more than 100 others inju.red.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite found the defendants guilty on a nine-count terror!sm charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
The convicts are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25). However, a fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence linking him to the att.ack.
The court held that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, establishing that the convicts were members of an Al-Shabaab-linked cell operating in Kogi State and participated directly in planning and executing the atta.ck.
Justice Nwite ruled that evidence presented before the court confirmed their involvement in the ass.ault on the church, stating that the terr.or group coordinated meetings between May 30 and June 4, 2022, during which the atta.ck was allegedly planned.
“The evidence before the court sufficiently established the participation of the defendants in the activities of the terrorist group, including the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo,” the judge ruled.
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