The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has reserved judgment in the terrorism trial of five men accused of involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
The defendants, Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Abubakar, are facing a nine-count terrorism charge filed against them by the Department of State Services.
Justice Emeka Nwite reserved judgment on Tuesday after counsel for the prosecution and the defence adopted their final written addresses and argued their positions before the court.
The judge said the judgment date would be communicated to the parties, adding that counsel would receive notice from the court once the judgment was ready. He indicated that the notice could be issued within 24 hours.
In his final submission, prosecuting counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death, citing the gravity of the alleged offence.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, however, urged the court to discharge and acquit the accused persons, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations against them beyond reasonable doubt.
No fewer than 41 worshippers were killed during the attack on the Catholic church, while more than 140 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The trial, which commenced on August 1, 2025, saw the DSS call 11 witnesses in support of its case against the defendants.
The court had earlier admitted the confessional statements of the defendants after conducting a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statements were voluntarily made.
At the commencement of the trial, the DSS had requested accelerated hearing of the case, which was granted by the court.
The matter now awaits judgment on a date to be communicated to the parties.