Twelve people have been sentenced to death by hanging in separate terrorism and kidnapping cases prosecuted by the State Security Service (SSS), while several others received prison terms ranging from a few years to life imprisonment.

Court records show the convictions arose from offences including terrorism, kidnapping, murder, conspiracy, arms trafficking, terrorism financing and providing support to terrorist organisations.

Among those sentenced to death are four men convicted over the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. On June 3, 2026, the Federal High Court sentenced Idris Omeiza, Alqasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris to death after finding them guilty of terrorism-related offences connected to the attack that claimed more than 40 lives and left over 100 worshippers injured.

Other death sentences were handed down by state high courts in Ekiti, Kogi, Katsina and Sokoto in cases involving murder, kidnapping, terrorism and illegal arms trafficking.

The SSS also secured convictions against dozens of other defendants accused of offences such as membership of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as well as terrorism financing, gun running, concealment of information and providing material support to terrorist groups.

Among those given lengthy prison terms, Inuwa Bala received a 50-year sentence for gun running, while Saleh Idris was jailed for 45 years for membership of Boko Haram. Rabiu Umar and Ndukwe Iroha Kalu were each sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment for supporting terrorists and membership of IPOB respectively.

Several other convicts received prison terms ranging from five to 35 years, depending on the offences proved before the courts. In one case, Abel Ugwuoke was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on multiple counts in addition to life imprisonment on two other counts.

The court documents also show convictions involving individuals linked to IPOB, with sentences ranging from five to 40 years for offences including membership of the proscribed group and providing support to its members.

The convictions form part of the Federal Government’s ongoing mass terrorism trials coordinated through the Federal High Court in Abuja. In June, more than 600 terrorism suspects were arraigned on charges including terrorism, membership of proscribed organisations, terrorism financing and failure to disclose information relating to terrorist activities.

Alongside the prosecutions, the SSS said it has continued reviewing inherited detention cases to identify individuals who were wrongly held. The agency disclosed that it has reviewed more than 30 such cases, released affected persons and paid over ₦300 million in compensation to those found to have been wrongfully detained.