Court gavel
Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday directed that five individuals accused of perpetrating the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, be held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Presiding Judge Emeka Nwite, serving as a vacation judge, issued the directive after the five defendants were brought before the court and entered not guilty pleas to the charges leveled against them by the Federal Government.
The accused individuals are Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), listed as the first through fifth defendants, respectively.
According to reports from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo claimed over 40 lives and left more than 100 worshippers injured.
The prosecution, led by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), filed a nine-count charge, docketed as FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, on July 23, with M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, overseeing the case.
During the court session, Calistus Eze, representing the Federal Government, informed the court that the case was set for the defendants’ arraignment. Noting that the charges were filed during the court’s vacation period, Eze submitted an ex-parte summons alongside the charges. He requested permission to proceed with the application, which the court granted.
Eze explained that the ex-parte summons, filed on July 28, sought approval for the charges to be addressed during the vacation period. Judge Nwite approved the request in a brief ruling.
Following this, the charges were read to the defendants, all of whom pleaded not guilty. Eze then requested a trial date and asked that the defendants be remanded in DSS custody pending the trial.
“We respectfully request a trial date to present our witnesses and ask that the defendants be held in DSS custody, given their not guilty pleas,” Eze stated.
Abdullahi Muhammad, counsel for the defendants, did not object to the prosecution’s request. However, he asked the court to grant the defendants access to their lawyers and family members, noting that they had been in custody since 2022 without such access.
In response, Eze clarified that standard procedure allows defendants access to their legal counsel and relatives upon submission of a written request specifying the date and time. He added that, with the trial now underway, the defendants would be provided with adequate time and resources to prepare their defense.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case to August 19 for the start of the trial and ordered the defendants to remain in DSS custody.
The defendants, along with others still at large, are alleged to have joined the AL Shabab Terrorist Group in 2021 and operated a cell in Kogi State, an offense punishable under Section 25(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In the second count, the defendants are accused of holding meetings on May 30, June 3, and June 4, 2022, in locations including Government Secondary School, Ogamirana, Adavi LGA, Kogi State, and behind Omialafa Central Mosque, Ose LGA, Ondo State. During these meetings, they allegedly planned the terrorist attack executed on June 5, 2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, an act punishable under Section 12(a) of the same Act.
Further charges allege that on June 5, 2022, the defendants detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the church with the intent to cause death, resulting in over 40 fatalities, including Ajanaku John, Onuoha Deborah, Onileke Esther, and John Bosede. Additionally, they are accused of attacking worshippers with IEDs and AK-47 rifles, taking hostages, and causing severe injuries to over 100 individuals, including Onileke Ayodele, John Blessing, Nselu Esther, and Ogungbade Peter, in an effort to advance their religious ideology. This offense is punishable under Section 42(a)(ii) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, among other charges.
