THE Federal Government, on Monday, August 11, arraigned five men accused of carrying out the deadly attack on a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in 2022 that led to the death of at least 50 worshippers and wounding of over 100 others.
The suspects- Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar- who were arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja under Nigeria’s terrorism law, pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS).
The presiding Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, adjourned the start of the trial to August 19.
The suspects were alleged to have been recruited into Somalia-based terrorist group, Al Shabaab, in 2021, and plotted the assault at a public school in central Nigeria and near a mosque 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from Owo’s St Francis Catholic Church.
Al Shabaab did not claim responsibility for the June 2022 attack and its operational presence in Nigeria remains unverified.
Following th attack, authorities initially blamed the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which, in collaboration with Boko Haram, has waged a prolonged insurgency in the Northeast.
The groups, also did not claim responsibility for the attack.
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