The Federal Government will on Monday arraign five suspected terrorists linked to the deadly attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022, in which scores of worshippers lost their lives.
As reported by Vanguard, the defendants are to appear before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
They arrived in the courtroom at about 9:05 a.m., escorted by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The suspects are identified as Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Federal Government.
The charge sheet, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, contains nine counts against the defendants. Filed and signed by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions in the Federal Ministry of Justice, it alleges that the suspects, along with others still at large, became members of the Al-Shabab terrorist group sometime in 2021.
They were alleged to have their “cell in Kogi and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 25(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
In another count, they were accused of holding meetings on May 30, June 3, and June 4, 2022, in Kogi and Ondo states, where they planned the church attack.
The charge states that the suspects met “at Government Secondary School, Ogamirana, Adavi LGA, in Kogi and behind Omialafa Central Mosque, Ose LGA, Ondo State, respectively, attended and held meetings where you agreed to and planned for the terrorist attack, which they carried out on June 5, 2022, at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.”
This offence, according to the prosecution, is contrary to and punishable under Section 12(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
As of press time, the arraignment had yet to take place.
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