DSS Seeks Death Penalty as Court Reserves Judgment in Owo Church Attack Trial

The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in the trial of five men charged over the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, with the prosecution urging the death penalty.

Justice Emeka Nwite said the parties would be notified once the judgment is ready, noting that the notice could come within 24 hours.

The Department of State Services (DSS) charged Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Abubakar with nine counts of terrorism. The DSS had called 11 witnesses in the trial that began on August 1, 2025.

In his final submission, counsel to the prosecution, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death given the scale of the attack, in which 41 worshippers were killed and over 140 others injured.

“The prosecution has established its case through compelling evidence and detailed investigations,” Adedipe argued, adding that the case reflected the determination of security agencies to secure accountability for one of the deadliest attacks on worshippers in Nigerian history.

However, defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammad prayed the court to discharge and acquit his clients, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove its case against them.

The trial had earlier conducted a trial-within-trial to determine whether the defendants’ confessional statements were given voluntarily. The court admitted the statements after ruling in favour of the prosecution.

Sources: ThisDay, Naija News