Nigerian authorities have arraigned five men in connection with the June 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which killed at least 50 worshippers and injured more than 100 others.
The accused — all Nigerian nationals — were brought before a Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism charges and ordered to remain in the custody of the Department of State Services.
The trial, scheduled to begin on August 19 before Justice Emeka Nwite, is expected to test Nigeria’s ability to prosecute complex terrorism cases as the country continues to battle insurgencies and rising insecurity.
According to court filings, the suspects allegedly joined the East African militant group Al Shabaab in 2021 and plotted multiple attacks, including one targeting a public school in central Nigeria and another near a mosque about 30 kilometres from the Owo church.
Al Shabaab has not claimed responsibility for the attack, and its operational presence in Nigeria remains unconfirmed. Authorities had initially blamed the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a group active alongside Boko Haram in Nigeria’s northeast, but ISWAP has also denied involvement in the deadly assault.
