Four Men Sentenced to Death for Owo Church Attack
A Nigerian court has sentenced four men to death for their involvement in a 2022 attack on a Catholic church in Ondo state, an incident that shocked the nation.
During a Pentecost service at St Francis Catholic Church in the town of Owo, the assailants opened fire, killing 41 worshippers and injuring over 100 others.
The court in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, also sentenced the men—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris—to 20 years in prison for membership in a terrorist organization.
In Nigeria, presidential approval is required before any death sentence can be executed. The country has not carried out any executions for several years.
Presiding Judge Emeka Nwite stated that the evidence against the defendants was "neither shaken nor contradicted during cross examination." He had ordered an accelerated hearing after the high-profile trial began in August 2025.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite affirmed that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, presenting witnesses who witnessed the attack, including one who identified two of the defendants as attackers.
"Hence this court finds the first to fourth defendants guilty of all nine counts," he added.
One witness was a woman who suffered severe injuries from a dynamite explosion detonated by the attackers, resulting in the amputation of both legs from the knees and the loss of her left eye.
The nine counts against the defendants included membership in a terror group and the planning and execution of killings.
Prosecutor Ayodeji Adedipe remarked,
"Justice has been served, justice has been done to the deceased who were murdered in cold blood."
The defense lawyer for the men announced plans to appeal the sentence.
During the trial, the defendants claimed they were subjected to torture, including being hung from the ceiling, beaten repeatedly, and subjected to electric shocks on their genitals.
A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. He had been accused of financing the attack by allegedly receiving 800,000 naira (£440; $590) twice from another suspect still at large and distributing the funds to the attackers.
During cross-examination, Abubakar stated that the money in his account was proceeds from his farming business and cooperative society activities, denying that the four other defendants benefited from it.
Context of Rising Insecurity and Attacks on Churches
Since the Owo attack, Nigeria has experienced numerous attacks on churches amid escalating insecurity nationwide.
US President Donald Trump has criticized Nigeria for failing to protect its Christian population from jihadist attacks.
On Christmas Day, the US conducted strikes on two camps operated by a jihadist group in north-western Nigeria and warned of further action if attacks persisted.
Claims of genocide against Nigeria's Christians have circulated in some right-wing US circles; however, organizations monitoring political violence in Nigeria report that most victims of jihadist groups are Muslims.
The Nigerian government denies that Christians face persecution in the country.
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