A federal high court in Abuja has convicted four persons over their involvement in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo state.
Four out of the five suspects initially arraigned were convicted on all nine counts preferred against them by the federal government.
The suspects — Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar — were arraigned on August 11 on a nine-count terrorism charge.
The federal government alleged that they joined the Al-Shabaab terrorist group in 2021 and operated a cell in Kogi state.
According to the prosecution, the defendants held meetings in Kogi and Ondo in 2022, where they planned the church attack.
They were accused of detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and carrying out the assault with AK-47 rifles, resulting in the deaths of over 40 people and injuries to more than 100 others.
The government said the attack was carried out to further the group’s religious ideology, offences punishable under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
