By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their involvement in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The convicted terrorists, identified as Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25), were found guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
However, the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted after the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence linking him to the attack.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the prosecution had successfully established its case against the four defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
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The Merit Newspaper reports that According to the judge, the evidence presented before the court clearly showed that the convicts were members of and actively participated in the operations of the terrorist group responsible for the deadly church attack.
The attack occurred during a Pentecost service at St. Francis Catholic Church and claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers, while over 100 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The court heard that the convicted terrorists were key members of an Al-Shabaab cell operating in Kogi State. They allegedly stormed the church, held worshippers hostage, and carried out extensive destruction during the attack.
Prosecutors told the court that the assailants used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles in executing the attack, which they said was motivated by the group’s extremist religious ideology.
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In the course of the trial, the prosecution called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits to support its case against the defendants.
Among the exhibits admitted by the court were the defendants’ confessional statements, a digital forensic examination report, and a Technophone device said to contain communications exchanged by the suspects before and after the attack.
One of the prosecution witnesses, a Catholic priest who survived the incident, gave a harrowing account of the attack, telling the court that the terrorists detonated no fewer than three explosive devices inside the church during the assault.
After reviewing all the evidence presented, Justice Nwite concluded that the prosecution had proved the charges against the four defendants beyond reasonable doubt and accordingly sentenced them to death by hanging.
