The trial of five individuals charged with planning the bombing of a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo State, is scheduled to begin in an Abuja Federal High Court.
On August 11, 2025, the Department of State Services (DSS) charged the five individuals with complicity in the June 5, 2022, attack at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, before Justice Emeka Nwite.
Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar are the five individuals who will go on trial for the attack that killed over 40 people and injured over 100 more.
The Department of State Services (DSS) charged the five defendants with nine counts of terrorism, and they all entered not guilty pleas.
Among other things, the individuals are charged with belonging to the terrorist organization Al Shabab, which has a cell in Kogi State.
Additionally, they are accused of carrying out the act to support their religious beliefs.
They allegedly committed an offense against and were punished under Section 25(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, by having their “cell in Kogi.”
The suspects were accused of planning the attack in 2022 and carrying it out in June of that year after meeting at the Government Secondary School, Ogamirana, Adavi LGA in Kogi, and behind the Omialafa Central Mosque, Ose LGA, Ondo.
