The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the bail applications of five suspects allegedly involved in the June 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite, presiding over the bail hearing, held that the charges against the defendants were capital in nature and thus not bailable.
He stated emphatically that the accused belong to a “dangerous terrorist organisation capable of intimidating witnesses and undermining the trial.”
Upholding the arguments of the Department of State Services (DSS), Justice Nwite ruled that “the evidence against the defendants was weighty and could not be dismissed.”
He further noted that the claim by the DSS that the suspects posed a flight risk had not been contested by their defence.
The judge also highlighted defects in the bail application process itself. He observed that the five defendants failed to present credible sureties and that the bail motion was procedurally flawed. It was filed as a single joint document rather than separate affidavits and motions for each accused, as required by law.
“As facts not opposed are believed to be true,” the judge declared, dismissing the bail application and ordering an accelerated trial.
The next hearing has been scheduled for 19 October 2025.
Case Background
On 11 August 2025, the five suspects: Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar were arraigned before the same court on a nine-count terrorism charge. They pleaded not guilty and were remanded in the custody of the DSS.
The accusations include membership in the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and planning the Owo attack from locations in Kogi and Ondo States.
The incident resulted in the deaths of at least 50 worshippers and left over 100 others injured. It is one of the deadliest attacks on a place of worship in Nigeria in recent times.
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