The federal high court in Abuja has reserved judgment in the trial of the five suspects arraigned over alleged involvement in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo state.
Emeka Nwite, the trial judge, spoke on Tuesday after counsel to the prosecution and the defence adopted their final written addresses.
Nwite said that the date of judgment would be communicated to parties.
Earlier, Ayodeji Adedipe, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death in view of the enormity of the alleged crime.
However, Abdullahi Mohammad, counsel to the defendants, asked the court to discharge and acquit the suspects on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to establish its case against them.
The five suspects are Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al-Qasim Idris, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.
The suspects were arrested in connection with the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo state, which left 41 worshippers dead and more than 140 others injured.
The DSS had called 11 witnesses to establish the allegations against the defendants tendered several exhibits in evidence.
The items admitted in evidence were confessional statements and a digital forensic examination report, tendered alongside a phone alleged to have contained communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the terror attack.
