A rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi has called for the immediate prosecution of the suspects arrested in connection to the Sunday, June 5, attack on a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State was viciously attacked during a Sunday service.
More than 40 worshippers died as a result of the attack and in the aftermath many South West States declared mourning days in solidarity with Ondo State.
On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor announced that the masterminds of the Owo church attack had been apprehended by security operatives.
This is after the Federal Government had laid blame for the attack on the Islamic States of West African Province (ISWAP).
Reacting, Olajengbesi in a statement on Wednesday maintained that a swift prosecution and conviction would go a long way in forestalling future occurrence.
According to him, “Whilst one must commend the security agencies for the arrest of the suspects involved in the dastardly carnage at Owo in June, it is important to stress the need for the swift prosecution and subsequent conviction of the suspects.
“Having established that the actions of the suspects were in gross violation of the Terrorism (Prevention) Amendment Act 2013, the Federal Government should not hesitate to arraign the suspects for their trial to begin in earnest.
“Nigerians are keen about this matter and won’t accept any political interference and delay tactics like is currently happening to 400 BDC operators arrested for terrorism financing since 2021, but who are yet to be arraigned by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).”
The lawyer called on the Buhari-led administration to learn from sister foreign governments who have been swift in dealing with issues relating to terrorism.
While noting that Nigerians would not take anything short of justice by the Federal Government on the case of the Owo attack, he hinted that cover ups would not be tolerated by the populace again.
“In the case of Owo, Nigerians won’t take cover-ups. Justice must be dispensed quickly lest the government give the accomplices of the suspects time to plot their escape from prison as seen in the attack on Kuje prison on July 5, 2022 where at least 69 Boko Haram suspects were confirmed to have escaped when ISWAP fighters attacked the prison.
“In fact, for security reasons, the Owo suspects should be kept in DSS custody as prisons are now susceptible to attacks, not with a country that has recorded about 20 jailbreaks since the All Progressives Congress government took over office,” he said.
