By Paschal Norbert
ABUJA, AUGUST 15, 2025 (CISA)- Three years after gunmen stormed St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, southwestern Nigeria, killing at least 50 worshippers and injuring over 100 others, the trial of five men accused of carrying out the 2022 Pentecost Sunday massacre is set to begin. Nigerian prosecutors on August 11 arraigned the suspects before a federal high court in Abuja, marking a crucial test of the country’s ability to deliver justice in high-profile terrorism cases.
The prosecutors charged five men, Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, under Nigeria’s terrorism laws.
The accused, alleged to have ties to the East African militant group Al Shabaab since 2021, reportedly planned multiple assaults, including an attack on a public school in central Nigeria and near a mosque roughly 30 kilometres from St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo.
All five pleaded not guilty and were remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial’s commencement to August 19. The proceedings are expected to test Nigeria’s counterterrorism judicial framework at a time when the country faces escalating insurgencies and security crises.
The 2022 Owo Massacre
The attack occurred on June 5, 2022, during a Pentecost Sunday Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Ondo State.
According to eyewitness accounts, including that of Fr Andrew Adeniyi Abayomi, assistant parish priest, the Mass had just concluded when the first gunshots rang out. Initially mistaking the sound for something harmless, Fr Abayomi quickly realized the church was under siege.
“I did not fear for my life, rather, I was thinking how to save my parishioners,” he told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International. He guided worshippers into the sacristy, shielding children and adults who clung to him, some even hiding under his chasuble.
Witnesses reported three to four explosions during the attack, which lasted about 20 to 25 minutes. When the gunfire ceased and survivors emerged, the extent of the carnage became clear, dozens were dead and scores wounded.
The massacre drew national and international condemnation. During the Funeral Mass for the victims, Rt Rev Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo urged the faithful to “refuse to be crushed by the tragedy,” noting that the attack had thrust the Catholic Church in Owo and Nigeria into the global spotlight “for the very wrong reasons.”
Since the incident, calls for justice have echoed across Nigeria and beyond, with victims’ families, church leaders, and human rights advocates demanding accountability.
The upcoming trial will determine whether justice will finally be served for one of Nigeria’s deadliest church attacks in recent history.
