The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, the 10th of September, 2025, rejected a bail plea filed by five men accused of being members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and linked to the St. Francis Catholic Church massacre in Owo, Ondo State, which left more than 40 people dead and over 100 others wounded.
Presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ruled against the request, stressing that the allegations levelled against the defendants fall under capital offences and that granting them bail would endanger public safety.
The five accused persons , Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, had moved the court through their lawyer, Abdullahi Ibrahim, with a bail application dated 11th of August, 2025, and argued on the 19th of August.
Counsel to the defendants claimed his clients had secured “reliable and responsible sureties” ready to guarantee their compliance if released.
On the other hand, the Department of State Services, represented by Dr Callistus Eze, strongly objected to the bail request, warning that the gravity of the charges and the strength of evidence presented could push the accused to flee.
The DSS further submitted that bail could embolden the suspects to intimidate witnesses and compromise the trial.
Justice Nwite upheld the DSS’s position, noting that the defence failed to establish convincing grounds for bail and that the sureties presented lacked credibility. He concluded that granting bail in such circumstances would amount to “judicial risk.”
The court also faulted the application on technical grounds, pointing out that the names of the five men were not properly included on the motion paper as required, and that the supporting affidavit was a joint two-paragraph document rather than separate affidavits for each defendant.
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The defendants are standing trial under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, on several counts including membership of Al-Shabaab’s Kogi State cell, attending planning meetings for the Owo church attack, possession of Improvised Explosive Devices and AK-47 rifles, and detonating explosives at St. Francis Catholic Church on the 5th of June, 2022, which killed over 40 people and injured more than 100 others.
The Owo attack, one of Nigeria’s bloodiest terrorist incidents in recent years, triggered outrage across the country and abroad, drawing attention to the reach of extremist groups beyond the North-East, traditionally ravaged by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Justice Nwite ordered the suspects to remain in DSS custody and directed that the case should proceed under accelerated hearing, setting the 19th of October, 2025, for trial to commence.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) welcomed the ruling, stressing that justice must prevail for the victims. In its Wednesday statement, the group said “anything less than the heaviest penalties for the grave crimes against humanity committed by the terrorists is totally unacceptable.”
Backing its stance with available data, HURIWA pointed to records from statista.com, which showed that between 2011 and 2023, Boko Haram accounted for thousands of deaths across Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. The group highlighted that “Nigeria is the country most affected by the terrorist group’s attacks. States in the North-East register the highest number of deaths. Borno is by far the most threatened state, in that Boko Haram has caused over 38,000 deaths in this area.”