Justice At Last For The Owo Massacre Victims

The recent sentencing of four members of the Al-Shabab Group to death by hanging by a Court for their roles in the June 5, 2022 massacre of some worshippers at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo is victory against the hydra-headed monster of terrorism that has greatly ravaged the Nigerian clime.

This landmark judgement proves that despite the slow pace of our judicial system, the Nigerian judiciary can dispense justice in spite of the complex technicalities of a terrorism related prosecution.

The judgement is a soothing balm to the bereaved families as they still mourn the brutal death of their loved ones.

However, the judgement is not yet uhuru in the battle against terrorism as the terrorists continue to greatly exploit our weak governance structures, gargantuan poverty, porous borders to recruit willing hands to kill and maim Nigerians in the name of ‘god.’

While convictions are very important, preventing the attacks in the first place is even more necessary as prevention is better than cure.

The Owo tragedy greatly exposes the inherent weakness in Nigeria’s security architecture as there is the need for better intelligence gathering, citizen policing – the easy reporting of strange movements by the residents of the area to the law enforcement authorities. All these cannot be substituted by only brute military force.

Also important is the need for the judiciary to expedite cases involving terrorism to restore public confidence and to ensure that the bereaved families get justice.

The Nigerian government must also substantially invest in education, youth empowerment, skills acquisition, etc, to prevent youths from being lured into terrorism.

The Governors must also sign the death warrant as most death sentences get stalled because they refuse to sign it, mostly on religious grounds. The death sentence must be a deterrent to terrorists from carrying out their heinous acts.

The war is far from over, but this is a step in the right direction towards peace and security in the troubled land.