The Federal High Court in Abuja reserved judgment on Tuesday in the trial of five persons accused of being involved in the terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022, that murdered 41 parishioners.
Over 140 people were also injured in the attack, and the Department of State Services requested and received an accelerated hearing on the matter at the start of the trial.
Justice Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, set a date for judgment that will be notified to the parties once the prosecution and defense counsels have delivered their final written addresses.
The judge advised counsel that the court will tell them when the ruling is ready and that the notice may arrive within 24 hours.
During his concluding argument, DSS attorney Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN) requested the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum penalty of death due to the gravity of the alleged act.
Abdullahi Mohammad, counsel for the accused, urged the court to discharge and acquit his clients, claiming that the prosecution failed to establish its case against them.
The defendants are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.
The DSS invited 11 witnesses to the trial, which began on August 1, 2025, to prove the claims against the suspects.
The court had already acknowledged the prisoners’ confessional remarks after conducting a trial within a trial to assess whether they were willingly given.
The attack occurred during a Sunday mass, killing at least 41 attendees and injured over 140 others in one of Nigeria’s bloodiest attacks on a house of worship in recent years.
The attack, which sparked national and international anger, was carried out by armed terrorists who invaded the church grounds and opened fire on congregants, throwing the community into mourning and prompting increased security operations around the country.
At the time of the incident, Ondo State was under the administration of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who described the attack as a “deliberate, vicious, and calculated assault on peace-loving people” and called for urgent federal intervention to strengthen security in vulnerable communities.
Akeredolu also led state-level emergency responses, including visits to the hospitalized victims and coordination of relief efforts for affected families.
Following investigations by security agencies, the DSS identified and arraigned five suspects in connection with the attack.
