Court denies bail to Owo church massacre suspects, orders accelerated trial

A federal high court in Abuja has refused the bail request made by five suspects who were allegedly involved in the murder of over 40 worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo state.

Ruling on the bail application on Wednesday, Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, held that the charge against the defendants are capital offences which are not bailable.

Nwite held that the defendants were accused of belonging to a dangerous terrorist organisation capable of intimidating witnesses and undermining the trial.

He upheld the arguments of the Department of State Services (DSS) which maintained that the evidence against the accused was weighty and could not be dismissed.

The judge further agreed with the DSS that the defendants posed a flight risk, noting that the claim they might abscond if granted bail was not challenged by the defence.

Nwite also ruled that the five accused persons failed to present credible sureties to guarantee their appearance in court, adding that the DSS’s position — that granting bail would amount to judicial risk — was not refuted by their lawyers.

The judge granted an accelerated trial and scheduled the next hearing for October 19.

BACKGROUND

On June 5, 2022, gunmen attacked the church, shooting at worshippers from point-blank range.

The suspects are Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.

On August 11, they were arraigned on a nine-count charge filed by the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

The suspects and others who are at large were alleged to have, sometime in 2021, joined the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

They were alleged to have their “cell in Kogi and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 25(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022″.

The federal government alleged that the suspects held meetings at the Government Secondary School, Ogamirana, Adavi LGA in Kogi, and behind Omialafa Central Mosque, Ose LGA, Ondo in 2022, and planned the attack, which they carried out in June of the same year.

The defendants were alleged to have, on June 5, with intent to cause death, detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which led to the death of over 40 persons, including Ajanaku John, Onuoha Deborah, Onileke Esther, and John Bosede.

They were also alleged to have, on June 5, at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, with intent to further their religious ideology and while armed with IEDs and AK 47 rifles, attacked worshippers, held them hostage and in the process, caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons, including Onileke Ayodele, John Blessing, Nselu Esther and Ogungbade Peter.

The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 42 (a)(ii) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.