The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday denied the bail request made by five alleged Al-Shabab terrorists who allegedly attacked a Catholic Church in Owo town, Ondo State, resulting in the death of over 40 worshippers.
Justice Emeka Nwite dismissed their bail application, stating that the terrorism charges against them were capital in nature.
The judge also ruled that they were accused of being members of a powerful terrorist organization that could intimidate witnesses, influence, and jeopardize the defendants’ trial before the court.
In her decision regarding the bail application, Justice Emeka Nwite supported the Department of the State Service’s (DSS) claims that the evidence against the suspected terrorists was substantial and should not be ignored.
In addition, the judge stated that the DSS’s claim that they will breach bail and flee if permitted to return home was accepted as fact.
Additionally, Justice Nwite maintained the security agency’s argument that the five defendants failed to provide reliable sureties who could defend them in court.
He claimed that their attorneys had not contested the DSS’s claims that granting them bail would put them at judicial risk.
Overall, Justice Emeka Nwite dismissed the bail request after ruling that the defendants had not provided convincing and verifiable justifications for being permitted to return home until their trial.
The judge had previously ruled the motion on notice incompetent before considering the merits of the bail application because the names of the five defendants were not included on the motion paper as required by law.
The judge also criticized the motion paper on the grounds that the five defendants’ bail requests were supported by a joint affidavit of two paragraphs, which went against the legal requirement that each accused person provide a separate affidavit to support their bail request.
Justice Emeka Nwite set the trial’s start date for October 19 while granting an accelerated trial.
Recall that on August 19, 2025, their attorney, Abdullahi Awwal Ibrahim, argued their bail application dated August 11, 2025.
About The Author
