However, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a sufficient link between him and the deadly terrorist attack.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their roles in the gruesome attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022, an assault that left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 others injured.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, handed down the death sentence after finding the four defendants guilty on a nine-count terrorism charge brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Nigerian government.
Those convicted are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a sufficient link between him and the deadly terrorist attack.
