The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday refused the bail request made by five alleged Al-Shabab terrorists who allegedly attacked a Catholic Church in Owo town, Ondo State, leading to the death of over 40 worshippers.

Justice Emeka Nwite, who dismissed their bail application, held that the terrorism charges preferred against them were capital in nature and that they were accused of being members of a strong terrorist organisation who may intimidate witnesses, influence proceedings and jeopardise the trial of the defendants before the court.

Delivering a ruling on the bail application, Justice Nwite upheld the arguments of the Department of State Services (DSS) that the evidence against the alleged terrorists was strong and could not be glossed over.

Besides, the judge said the argument of the DSS that they would jump bail and abscond if released was not disputed and was deemed to be true.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Owo Church Massacre: Suspects Reportedly Arrested In Ondo [Video]

The judge also upheld the submission of the security agency that the five accused persons did not provide credible sureties to stand for them pending trial, and added that the DSS’s argument that admitting them to bail would amount to judicial risk was not challenged by their lawyers.

In all, Justice Nwite held that the defendants failed to give cogent and verifiable reasons why they should be granted bail pending their trial and subsequently dismissed the bail request.

Earlier, before going into the merit of the bail application, the judge had declared the motion on notice incompetent on the ground that the names of the five defendants were not listed on the motion paper as required by law.

READ ALSO:Pope Francis Reacts To Owo Church Massacre

The judge also faulted the motion paper on another ground: that a joint affidavit of two paragraphs was filed in support of the request for bail of the five defendants, contrary to the position of the law that each accused person must file a separate affidavit to back up a bail request.

While granting an accelerated trial, Justice Nwite fixed 19 October for the commencement of the trial.

It will be recalled that the bail application of the defendants – Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar – dated 11 August 2025, was argued by their counsel, Abdullahi Awwal Ibrahim, on 19 August 2025.

While arguing the application, the lawyer had submitted that the accused persons had assembled reliable and responsible sureties to stand for them.

READ ALSO:Owo Church Attack: Eyewitnesses Give Accounts

The request was opposed by the DSS lawyer, Dr Callistus Eze, on the grounds that the accused persons may escape because of the gravity of the charges against them, urging the court to refuse the bail application and allow the defendants to remain in DSS custody.

Some counts in the charge read: “That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar adults, males, with others still at large, sometime in 2021, did join and became members of AL Shabab Terrorist Group, with cell in Kogi State and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 25(1) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 30th May, 2022; 37 June, 2022 and 4 June, 2022, at Government Secondary School, Ogamirana, Adavi LGA, Kogi State and behind Omialafa Central Mosque, Ose LGA, Ondo State, respectively, attended and held meetings, where you agreed to and planned for the terrorist attack, which you carried out on 5™ June, 2022, at St. Francs Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12(a) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, with intent to further your religious ideology and while armed with IEDs and AK 47 rifles, did attack worshippers, held them hostage and in the process, caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons, including Onileke Ayodele, John Blessing, Nselu Esther and Ogungbade Peter and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 24(2)(a) of the same Act.

READ ALSO:Owo Church Massacre: CAN Fumes, Sends Message To Buhari

“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, had in your possession IEDs and AK 47 rifles, with which you attacked worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, held them hostage, killed over 40 persons and caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2(1)(2) and (3)(v) and punishable under Section 24(1) and (2) of TPPA, 2022.

“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, with intent to cause death, did detonate Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which led to the death of over 40 persons, including: Ajanaku John; Onuoha Deborah; Onileke Esther and John Bosede and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 42 (a)(ii) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“That you, Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, adults, males, with others still at large, on 05/06/2022, at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, did detonate Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which caused grievous bodily harm to over 100 persons, including: Onuchukwu Happiness, Ogungbade Vivan and Nnakwe Paschaline Ugochinyerem and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 42(a)(i) of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

The national grid suffered a collapse on Wednesday.

This was confirmed in a public notice dated September 10, 2025, by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in a post on its X handle on Wednesday.

According to AEDC, the power outage currently experienced was due to a loss of supply from the national grid.

The post reads, “Please be informed that the power outage currently being experienced is due to a loss
of supply from the national grid at 11:23 am today, affecting electricity supply across
our franchise areas.”

READ ALSO:Blackout As National Grid Suffers ‘System Outage’

The company, however, assured the public that work was ongoing to restore the grid.

It added, “Rest assured, we are working closely with the relevant stakeholders to ensure power is
restored once the grid is stabilised.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding. For further updates or inquiries, call: 08039070070.
WhatsApp: 08152141414, 08152151515. Thank you.”

In 2024, the grid collapsed 12 times and over 100 times in 10 years.

Also in February, the national grid collapsed, throwing many Nigerians into a blackout.

READ ALSO:National Grid Collapses Second Time In Three Days

Following the constant power outages occasioned by the incessant grid collapses, six firms and one private university received the approval of the NERC to generate and distribute electricity in April.

Despite this, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, in its July report, claimed that there was no power system collapse nor disturbance in the first quarter of 2025.

“There was no incidence of system disturbance on the national grid in 2025/Q1,” the report stated.

The Federal Government has published Nigeria’s new tax reform laws in the official gazette following President Bola Tinubu’s assent on June 26.

The announcement was contained in a statement signed by the Personal Assistant on Special Duties to the President, Kamorudeen Yusuf, on Wednesday.

The reforms introduce four legislations: the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act 2025.

The gazette stated, “Small businesses with turnover under ₦100m and assets below ₦250m are exempted from corporate tax.

READ ALSO:FG Move To Establish Rehabilitation Centres For Persons With Spinal Cord Injury Nationwide

“Corporate tax rate for large firms may be cut from 30% to 25% at the President’s discretion.

“Top-up tax thresholds: ₦50bn (local firms) and €750m (multinationals).

“5% annual tax credit introduced for eligible priority-sector projects.

READ ALSO:FG Offers Up To 16.54% Yield On September Savings Bonds

“Companies transacting in foreign currency may now pay taxes in naira at official exchange rates.”

The Nigeria Tax Act and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act will take effect from January 1, 2026, while the Nigeria Revenue Service Act and the Joint Revenue Board Act became effective from June 26.

“These reforms aim to simplify Nigeria’s tax system, support small businesses, attract investment, and strengthen fiscal stability, aligning with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to diversify revenue away from oil,” the statement concluded.