Owo Church Attack: Suspects arraigned 3 years later as Nigeria blames Al-Shabaab

Three years after gunmen stormed St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, killing dozens of worshippers during a Sunday Mass, the Nigerian government has arraigned suspects in connection with the massacre.

Prosecutors allege that Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar were part of an extremist cell that unleashed gunfire and explosives on worshippers during Mass on June 5, 2022, killing at least 50 people and injuring over 100.

Some accounts, including from local hospitals, put the death toll as high as 80, with women and children among the victims. Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo governor at the time, described the attack as a “crime against humanity”.

The five men face charges under Nigeria’s terrorism law, with court documents saying they trained with the Somalia-based group Al Shabaab in 2021 and later plotted multiple attacks, including one near a mosque about 30 kilometres from the Owo church.

The men pleaded not guilty and will remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) until their trial begins on August 19.

The 2022 assault shocked the nation and drew condemnation from across the world. Then-President Muhammadu Buhari called it “heinous,” Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu described it as a “great massacre,” and Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims. The European Union and the United Nations also called for justice, urging Nigeria to do more to protect places of worship.

The government initially blamed the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), one of two major jihadist factions in Nigeria’s northeast, though the group never claimed responsibility. The latest court filings name Al Shabaab, but its operational presence in Nigeria remains unverified, according to Reuters.

The Somalia-based group has also claimed the attack.

The trial will be closely watched as a test of Nigeria’s capacity to prosecute terrorism cases — a challenge in a country where insurgencies, banditry, and extremist violence have stretched security and judicial systems for over a decade.