Nigerian courts in Abuja arraign five suspects in the 2022 Catholic church massacre
Nigerian prosecutors charged five individuals on Monday with carrying out the 2022 attack on a Catholic church in Owo, in the southwestern state of Ondo, which resulted in the deaths of at least fifty worshippers and the injuries of more than 100 more.
In an appearance before a federal high court in Abuja, the suspects—Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—were charged with terrorism under Nigerian law.
After entering not guilty pleas to the allegations, the defendants were placed under remand in the Department of State Services’ (DSS) custody.
Judge Emeka Nwite postponed the trial’s commencement until August 19. The trial is anticipated to put the government’s capacity to prosecute terrorism-related charges to the test, which is difficult given Nigeria’s struggles with insurgencies and general insecurity.
The men are accused of plotting the attack at a public school in central Nigeria and close to a mosque 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Owo’s St Francis Catholic Church after joining the East African terrorist organization Al Shabaab in 2021, according to court documents.
Al Shabaab did not take credit for the June 2022 attack, and there is no proof that it is operating in Nigeria.
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has fought a protracted insurgency in northeastern Nigeria alongside Boko Haram, was initially held accountable by authorities for the attack, although the group denied any involvement.
