May 26 (THEWILL) — A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, reserved judgement in the terrorism trial of five men accused of involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, which claimed the lives of over 40 worshippers and left more than 100 others injured.
Justice Emeka Nwite announced that judgement would be delivered on a date to be communicated to parties, adding that notices could be issued within 24 hours once the decision was ready.
The five defendants, including Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, are being prosecuted by the Department of State Services over alleged acts of terrorism linked to the deadly church attack in Owo, Ondo State.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, adopted his final written address and urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death, citing the scale and brutality of the attack.
Adedipe argued that the prosecution had successfully established the occurrence of the attack, the deaths recorded, the injuries sustained by victims and the destruction caused to the church building, stressing that those facts were never challenged by the defence.
According to him, the only issue contested during the trial was the denial of involvement by the defendants despite what he described as overwhelming evidence presented before the court.
“The first to fourth defendants made voluntary and positive confessional statements and that was why there was no trial within trial in this case, because their confessional statements were voluntary”, Adedipe told the court.
He maintained that attempts by the defendants to retract their statements failed because the confessional statements bore their signatures and thumbprints, which were never disputed throughout the proceedings.
The prosecution further argued that forensic reports and investigative findings linking the accused persons to the attack were not challenged by the defence.
Adedipe also told the court that the second and fourth defendants were identified in court by eyewitnesses whose testimonies remained intact during cross-examination.
On the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, the prosecution acknowledged that he did not make a confessional statement but argued that evidence before the court showed he allegedly financed the operation.
According to the prosecution, money discovered in the fifth defendant’s account formed part of the funds allegedly used to sponsor the attack and that he failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the source of the money.
“For these reasons that I had adumbrated, and the fuller reasons in the final address, we submit that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendants, particularly on the strength of the first to fourth defendants’ confessional statements”, Adedipe said.
The senior lawyer further argued that the offences preferred against the defendants were punishable under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, which prescribes death penalty where terrorist acts result in fatalities. He told the court that since the prosecution had established that more than 40 persons died during the attack and that the defendants were linked to the incident, the maximum punishment should apply.
Adedipe also urged the court to consider Nigeria’s worsening security situation and the devastating impact of terrorism while delivering judgment.
“The country is currently battling the effect of terrorism”, he said, praying the court not only to convict the defendants but also to impose the death sentence.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, however, urged the court to discharge and acquit his clients on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Unlike the prosecution, the defence lawyer did not make oral submissions but adopted the final written address filed on behalf of the defendants and asked the court to dismiss the charges against them.
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