The Federal Government has arraigned five suspected members of the Al-Shabab terrorist network before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday August,11,2025 over their alleged role in the gruesome attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, on June 5,2022 which left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 injured.
The defendants ,Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar are facing a nine-count charge bordering on terrorism, filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) under case number FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025.
Prosecutors allege that the accused, operating from a terror cell in Kogi State, plotted and executed the deadly church assault in furtherance of extremist religious ideology. They are also charged with possession of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles used during the attack.
When the charges were read, all five men pleaded not guilty. The prosecuting counsel, Calistus Eze, urged the court to keep the suspects in DSS custody until trial, while defence lawyer, Abdullahi Muhammad, requested that the court compel the DSS to grant the accused access to their families and legal representatives.
Muhammad argued that the suspects had been in detention since 2022 without family contact. Eze countered that such access could be granted once a formal request was submitted, but acknowledged the need for lawyer access to facilitate their defence.
In his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the DSS to continue holding the defendants but to allow both family and lawyer visitation. The trial is set to commence on August 19.
The charges detail that the accused allegedly joined Al-Shabab in 2021, held planning meetings in May and June 2022 in Kogi and Ondo States, and on the attack day, stormed the church armed with explosives and rifles, killing dozens and inflicting life-altering injuries on over 100 people.
If convicted, the defendants face severe penalties under various provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.