Four Islamic militants who carried out a deadly terrorist attack on a Catholic church in Nigeria have been sentenced to death.
Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris attacked St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo during a Pentecost Sunday Mass on 5 June 2022.
The militants assailed the church with firearms and explosive devices, killing over 40 people in and around the church, including children.
The attack was one of the worst in Nigeria in recent years, with the late Pope Francis commenting at the time that he was praying for the victims who had been “painfully stricken in a moment of celebration”.
Around 100 people were injured, among them Margaret Attah, who lost both legs and an eye in the attack. In 2023 Attah was granted Aid to the Church in Need’s first #RedWednesday Courage to be Christian Award, which honours heroism and faith in response to persecution.
As well as a death sentence, which requires presidential assent, the four men were handed symbolic life sentences for alleged membership of the terrorist group al Shabaab and were given 20-year sentences for conspiracy.
Court filings show the men had planned to attack other targets, including a public school. A fifth man was acquitted of the charges due to insufficient evidence.
Bishop Jude Arogundad’s diocese includes St Francis Xavier Catholic Church. He attended a special Mass to mark the fourth anniversary of the attack.
Prior to the Mass the bishop told Aid to the Church in Need that he was pleased the case had come to a close.
“We are pleased that at last the families and victims in general can move towards a kind a closure although we realise that they will never fully reach closure as they will carry the scars of what happened that day for the rest of their lives," he said.
“Many are still traumatised and are still going through medical treatment and many are on the edge – they are still suffering and worried because they don’t know what will happen next.”
He added that although the Church did not approve of the death penalty, it did believe it to be important that those responsible for such crimes be held accountable for their actions. He called upon the authorities to do more to bring others involved in the attack to justice.
