A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

Justice Emeka Nwite convicted Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris on all nine counts brought against them by the Federal Government, ruling that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was discharged due to insufficient evidence linking him to the attack.

The court held that the convicted men were members of a terrorist cell linked to Al-Shabaab and actively participated in planning and executing the attack, which claimed more than 40 lives and left over 100 worshippers injured during a Pentecost Sunday service.

Prosecutors presented 11 witnesses and 23 exhibits, including confessional statements and a digital forensic report extracted from a Tecno phone allegedly used for communications before and after the attack. Witnesses recounted the horror of the assault, describing explosions, sustained gunfire, deaths, and life-altering injuries suffered by victims.

The Federal Government said the attack was carried out to advance the group’s extremist religious ideology, contrary to the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.