Nigerian court arraigns suspects in 2022 Catholic church massacre

Five men appeared before a federal court in Abuja Aug. 11 to face charges connected to the 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, southwestern Nigeria, where dozens of worshippers were killed during Pentecost Sunday Mass.

Prosecutors named the defendants as Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, Reuters reported. Authorities say the attack claimed at least 50 lives and left more than 100 people injured. 

Each man entered a plea of not guilty to terrorism-related charges. Judge Emeka Nwite ordered their detention by the Department of State Services while the trial, set to begin Aug. 19, moves forward.

Court filings allege the defendants joined the East African militant group Al Shabaab in 2021 and conspired to stage several assaults, including one at a public school in central Nigeria and another near a mosque about 30 kilometers from the Owo church. Al Shabaab has not acknowledged involvement.

The Owo massacre is among a series of brutal attacks on Christians in Nigeria. CatholicVote has reported cases such as militants killing more than 200 displaced believers, gunmen abducting seminarians after murdering a guard, and terrorists slaughtering 11 Christians in Benue State. Church leaders warn these incidents are part of a “silent genocide” marked by massacres, mass displacement, and clergy kidnappings.

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