Breaking: Court Updates Proceedings In Trial Of Owo Church Attack Defendants

Published May 26, 2026 at 2:50 PM

The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in the case involving five men prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over their alleged roles in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo.

The ruling was made on Tuesday by Justice Emeka Nwite, who stated that the date for judgment delivery would be communicated to all parties once fixed.

Justice Nwite took the decision after listening to the final arguments from both the prosecution and defence counsel. He added that parties would be notified once the judgment is ready, possibly within 24 hours.

In his final address, prosecution counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Ayodeji Adedipe, urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum penalty of death, citing the severity of the alleged offences.

He argued that the prosecution had proven its case beyond doubt through extensive investigations and credible evidence, describing the attack as one of the deadliest assaults on worshippers in Nigeria.

However, defence counsel Abdullahi Mohammad urged the court to discharge and acquit the defendants, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish sufficient evidence against them.

The five defendants standing trial are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.