Four sentenced to death for killing worshippers at Catholic church in Nigeria

A fifth man was discharged and acquitted by the court due to insufficient evidence against him. Nigeria sentences four to death over Owo Catholic church attack which killed 41 Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Close up of two of the men sentenced to death sitting on red and black chairs in court. Four sentenced to death for killing worshippers at Catholic church in Nigeria Five men were on trial but only four were sentenced after one was acquitted The five men sitting on red and black chairs in court A court in Nigeria has sentenced four men to death for attacking a church in the south-western Ondo state in 2022 in a case which sent shockwaves across the nation. Forty-one worshippers were killed and more than 100 others injured when they opened fire at the St Francis Catholic church in the town of Owo during a Pentecost service. Forty-one worshippers were killed and more than 100 others injured when they opened fire at the St Francis Catholic church in the town of Owo The court in the capital Abuja also sentenced the men - Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris - to 20 years in prison for belonging to a terrorist group. Presidential assent is required before any death sentence is carried out in Nigeria. There have not been any executions in the country for several years. Judge Emeka Nwite, who presided over the case, said the evidence presented against them was "neither shaken nor contradicted during cross examination". He had ordered an accelerated hearing after the high-profile trial commenced in August 2025. In his judgement, Justice Nwite said that the prosecution had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt as they had brought before the court witnesses who saw the attack, including one who testified to recognising two of the defendants as attackers. "Hence this court finds the first to fourth defendants guilty of all nine counts," he added. Who are the victims of Nigeria church massacre? Blood on the altar after Nigeria church attack One of the witnesses the court heard from was a woman who had her legs amputated from the knees, and had lost her left eye as a result of a dynamite explosion which the attackers had detonated. The nine counts included joining a terror group, and planning and carrying out killings. Prosecutor Ayodeji Adedipe said: "Justice has been served, justice has been done to the deceased who were murdered in cold blood." The men's defence lawyer said they would appeal against the sentence. During the trial, the defendants said they had been tortured, including being hung from the ceiling, beaten countless times, and using electric shocks on their genitals. A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was discharged and acquitted by the court due to insufficient evidence against him. He was accused of having financed the attack, by allegedly receiving 800,000 naira (£440; $590) twice from another suspect - who is still at large - and then disbursing the funds to the attackers. During cross examination, however, Abubakar said the money in his account was the proceeds of his farming business, as well as activities from his cooperative society. He denied that the four other defendants were beneficiaries of the money. Since the Owo attack, Nigeria has witnessed many more attacks on churches across the country as it continues to grapple with rising insecurity. US President Donald Trump has accused Nigeria of failing to protect its Christian population from jihadist attacks. US President Donald Trump has accused Nigeria of failing to protect its Christian population On Christmas Day, the US hit two camps run by a jihadist group in north-western Nigeria, and threatened more if attacks continued. Claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians have been circulating for some time in right-wing US circles, but organisations monitoring political violence in Nigeria say most victims of the jihadist groups are Muslims. The Nigerian government also denies that Christians are being persecuted in the country. A bandit in Zamfara state dressed in dark blue and holding a gun over his shoulder walks away from the camera in a forested area. The kidnap gangs, jihadists and separatists wreaking havoc in Nigeria Christians faithfuls hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja on March 1, 2020 - they are holding a sign that says 'thou shall not kill' Are Christians being persecuted in Nigeria as Trump claims? A car on fire after bombing in Nigeria's north eastern Gombe state in 2015 Nearly 400 sentenced in Nigeria for links to militant Islamists A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica The oil giant says the documents ignore the critical context of the complex operating environment at the time. Tensions have been rising in South Africa in recent weeks following several anti-migrant protests. 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