A Federal High Court in Abuja has commenced the trial of five individuals accused of masterminding the June 5, 2022, bombing of St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed over 40 lives and left more than 100 individuals injured.
The suspects, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, were arraigned on nine-count terrorism charges by the Department of State Services (DSS) and pleaded not guilty.
The suspects are alleged to be members of the Al Shabab terrorist group, with a cell in Kogi State, and are accused of carrying out the attack in furtherance of their religious ideology.
According to the DSS, the suspects held meetings at Government Secondary School in Kogi and behind a mosque in Ondo, where they planned the attack.
They were remanded in DSS custody pending trial after Justice Emeka Nwite granted the prosecution’s application for their remand.
The trial is expected to shed more light on the circumstances surrounding the attack and determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.
