A federal high court in Abuja has rejected the bail application of five suspects accused of killing over 40 worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
Gatekeepers News reports that delivering the ruling on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the charges against the defendants are capital offences and therefore not bailable.
The judge agreed with the Department of State Services (DSS), which argued that the accused belonged to a terrorist organisation capable of intimidating witnesses and obstructing the trial. He also ruled that the weight of evidence against the suspects made bail inappropriate.
Justice Nwite further held that the suspects posed a flight risk, stressing that the claim they might abscond if released was not challenged by the defence.
He added that the defendants failed to provide credible sureties, noting that the DSS’s stance that granting bail would amount to a judicial risk, remained unrefuted.
The court subsequently ordered an accelerated trial and fixed October 19 for the next hearing.
Recall that on June 5, 2022, gunmen attacked St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, shooting worshippers at close range.
The suspects including Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar were arraigned on August 11 on a nine-count charge filed by the Attorney-General of the federation (AGF).
The federal government alleged that the accused joined the Al-Shabaab terrorist group in 2021, operating a cell in Kogi State, in violation of Section 25(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
They were said to have held planning meetings in Kogi and Ondo before executing the June 5 attack, during which improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and AK-47 rifles were used.
The attack claimed the lives of more than 40 persons, including Ajanaku John, Onuoha Deborah, Onileke Esther, and John Bosede, while over 100 others sustained grievous injuries, such as Onileke Ayodele, John Blessing, Nselu Esther, and Ogungbade Peter.
