A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced four persons to death by hanging over their involvement in the deadly terrorist attack on worshippers at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo, Ondo State.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who delivered the judgment, held that the prosecution successfully proved its case against four of the five defendants standing trial.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, ruling that there was no evidence linking him to the attack.
The convicts were found guilty of participating in the June 5, 2022 terrorist attack on the church, which claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers and left about 100 others with varying degrees of injuries. The attack also caused significant damage to the church building.
The four convicts were sentenced after the court found them guilty of belonging to a terrorist group, attending and supporting terrorist meetings, and conspiring to carry out terrorist activities that resulted in deaths and grievous bodily harm.
They were also convicted on charges bordering on hostage-taking, kidnapping, hijacking, terrorist financing, possession and use of dangerous weapons, threats, as well as aiding and abetting acts of terrorism.
The judgment comes four years after the attack that shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation from Nigerians and the international community.
The defendants were arrested in August 2022 shortly after the incident and were later arraigned on an amended nine-count charge in August 2025.
They had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The defendants were prosecuted by the Department of State Services, DSS, on behalf of the Federal Government.
