There was a devastating attack on St. Francis Catholic Church by gunmen in Owo, Ondo State yesterday afternoon. In the end, about 50 worshippers lay dead. According to an eyewitness, the gunmen, who disguised as worshipers, detonated explosives suspected to be dynamite and later opened fire on members of the church.
One of the priests at the church, Rev. Father Andrew Abayomi, who narrated how the church was attacked, said the gunmen also bombed the church. The corpses were deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, the Catholic Hospital, and private hospitals in the town.
Abayomi said: “We were about to round off service. I had even asked people to start leaving when we started hearing gunshots from different angles.
“We hid inside the church but some people had left when the attack happened. We locked ourselves in the church for 20 minutes. When we heard that they had left, we opened the church and rushed victims to the hospital.”
However, according to Vanguard, the killers who are four in numbers, arrived at the church a few minutes before 11am in Volkswagen Golf vehicle which was parked at the entrance of the church.
Also narrating how the attack was carried out, a church member, Kehinde Ogunkorode, said that about five gunmen stormed the church during service and shot members.
Ogunkorode said: “It was like a movie; they invaded the church and shot indiscriminately. Several people were killed, including children and women. It was when they wanted to abduct the priest that they threw dynamite into the church.”
It was also said that about 25 corpses were moved out of the church, with many casualties lying at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, for medical attention.
“Some gunmen invaded the church during service, opened fire and killed no fewer than 25 members of the church.
“The congregants were caught unawares by the killers. They also used explosives but many
However, Olayemi Adeyemi, the lawmaker representing Owo, Constituency II in the House of Assembly, claimed yesterday that those who attacked St Francis Catholic Church were armed herdsmen of Fulani tribe.
Speaking, Adeyemi said: “The gunmen invaded the religious premises with explosives which they detonated before opening live rounds on members while church service was ongoing. “The attack was a reprisal aimed at sending a message to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who chased away violent Fulani pastoralists from the area.
“Locals around the church premises saw the attackers who were on the run after unleashing the horrific act on the church. They were armed herdsmen of Fulani extraction, a tribe accused of spear-heading insecurity across the country.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, urged Nigerians in the affected area of Ondo State to go to hospitals where the injured were being treated to donate blood to save lives.
In a statement by its President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, the NMA said: “We received with sadness the news of the wanton killing of innocent Nigerians and abduction of some citizens at Owo in Ondo State by yet-to-be identified gunmen.
“The recurrent shedding of innocent blood in our dear country has been going on for far too long and it is the position of the Nigerian Medical Association that explanations, condemnations and reassurances are no longer comforting.
“The NMA, hereby, calls for quick intervention by our governments and security agencies to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians in every part of this nation.
“The Nigerian Medical Association commiserates with the government and good people of Ondo State over the loss of lives and prays for quick recovery of those injured.
“We appeal to Nigerians in the affected area of Ondo State to kindly go to the hospitals where the injured are being treated to donate blood to save lives.
‘’We call on all doctors in Ondo State and the environs to mobilize themselves to participate in the treatment of the injured. NMA also calls for the release in good health of those abducted.”
