ABUJA – Nigerian prosecutors on Monday brought formal charges against five men accused of orchestrating a deadly Islamist militant attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in June 2022. The assault claimed the lives of at least 50 worshippers and left more than 100 others injured.
The accused – Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar – appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja, facing charges under Nigeria’s terrorism law. Presiding Judge Emeka Nwite adjourned the commencement of the trial to August 19, in what is expected to be a key test of the government’s capacity to prosecute terrorism-related cases amid persistent insurgencies and insecurity nationwide.
Court filings allege that the men joined the East African terrorist group Al Shabaab in 2021 and were involved in plotting not only the Owo church attack but also assaults targeting a public school in central Nigeria and a site near a mosque, located about 30 kilometres from Owo. While Al Shabaab has not claimed responsibility for the massacre, its operational presence in Nigeria remains unverified.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, authorities attributed the attack to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) – a faction of the Islamist insurgency that, alongside Boko Haram, has waged a prolonged campaign of violence in Nigeria’s northeast. However, ISWAP also refrained from claiming responsibility for the killings.
The upcoming trial is being closely watched as Nigeria struggles to address the complex web of militant threats destabilising parts of the country.
.png)
The opinions posted here do not belong to 🔰www.indiansdaily.com. The author is solely responsible for the opinions.
As per the IT policy of the Central Government, insults against an individual, community, religion or country, defamatory and inflammatory remarks, obscene and vulgar language are punishable offenses. Legal action will be taken for such expressions of opinion.