The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to protect witnesses in the trial of five men accused of carrying out the deadly attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
Justice Emeka Nwite approved the request on Tuesday after DSS counsel Calistus Eze moved an ex parte motion, citing threats against prosecution witnesses. Defence lawyer Abdullahi Muhammad did not oppose the application.
The defendants — Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) — are facing a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Federal Government.
The attack on June 5, 2022, left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 injured. Prosecutors allege that the suspects, said to be members of an Al-Shabab cell operating in Kogi State, used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and rifles during the assault.
The charges, filed on July 23, 2025, by the Director of Public Prosecutions, M.B. Abubakar, accuse the men of joining a terrorist group, causing mass deaths, and inflicting grievous bodily harm in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Several of the accused’s alleged accomplices remain at large.
