Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four persons to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022 attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
Naijaonpoint reports that the court delivered the judgment after finding the defendants guilty in the terrorism case brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice Nwite delivered the judgment on Wednesday in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, four years after gunmen and bombers stormed the church during a Pentecost Sunday service and opened fire on worshippers.
He said he was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the four defendants.
The court held that the four convicted men were principal members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State who joined the group in 2021, attended planning meetings in Kogi and Ondo States on May 30 and June 4, 2022, and then invaded the church on June 5, holding worshippers hostage and using improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles in furtherance of their religious ideology.
The four convicts were among five defendants who had been standing trial on a nine-count charge relating to terrorism and other offences connected to the attack.
Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped the immediate past Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu’s sister and her twin sons.
Media aide to the former minister, Femi Awogboro, disclosed this in a statement.
Naijaonpoint reports that Adelabu is currently an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant for the 2027 election.
According to the statement, Adelabu’s sister, Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, alongside her twin sons, Peter and Paul, were kidnapped in the early hours of Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
The unfortunate incident occurred while John-Paul was on her way to drop her children at school.
The Returning Officer for the Adamawa primaries of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nicholas Msheliza, has accused former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, of attempting to influence and alter the outcome of the party’s recent presidential primary.
Naijaonpoint understands that Msheliza, the chairman of the ADC electoral committee in Adamawa State, made the allegation in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Msheliza said he rejected Babachir Lawal’s request to reverse the outcome in Hong Local Government Area in favour of his candidate, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, over former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
While threatening to release evidence to support his claims, Msheliza insisted the results reflected the actual votes cast.
According to him, Atiku won Hong LGA with 11,991 votes, while Hayatu-Deen polled 2,493 votes and former Minister Rotimi Amaechi got 377 votes.
Msheliza further alleged that shortly after his refusal, Lawal dissolved the local electoral committee and set up a parallel structure that conducted an illegal exercise across several LGAs, including Hong, Madagali, Michika and Mubi North.
He claimed the move produced concocted results and contradicted the official tally already recorded by the original committee.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared support for the nationwide strike by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) over the abduction of pupils, students and teachers in different parts of the country.
The labour centre also called for the immediate rescue and release of all abducted victims, warning that the worsening insecurity around schools had become unacceptable.