Terrorism: Court delivers judgement on Owo church attackers today

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed Wednesday June 3, 2026 for final judgment in the trial of five suspected terrorists who were arrested and prosecuted for a bloody attack on Owo church. The court had last week Tuesday, May 26 after reserving judgment in the case notified both the prosecution and defence lawyers that judgement will be delivered today. Daily Trust reports that no fewer than 41 members of the church were killed while 69 others were injured in the attack as the attackers threw some explosives to the altar scattering the worshippers. The Department of State Services later arrested Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Abubakar and charged them to court on a nine-count charge bordering on terrorism. The DSS had called 11 witnesses to establish the allegations against the defendants in the trial that began on Aug. 1, 2025. The trial court had admitted the confessional statements of the defendants following the conclusion of the trial-within-trial conducted to establish that the witnesses’ statements were voluntarily given. Last week, Justice Emeka Nwite, after lawyers to the prosecution and the defence adopted their final written addresses and presented their arguments for and against the case, reserved the judgment. In his final submission in the last adjourned date, lawyer to the prosecution, Ayodeji Adedipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death in view of the enormity of the crime they allegedly committed. On his part, the defendants’ lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammad, prayed the court to discharge and acquit his clients on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to establish its case against them.