Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
06-06-2022
ABUJA/ LAGOS: Gunmen opened fire on worshippers at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria and also detonated explosives. Dozens are feared dead including children.
Lawmaker Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said the attackers targeted the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state just as people gathered on Sunday.
Among the dead were many children, said Oluwole, who visited the scene and also the hospital in Owo, a town in the state where many of the wounded are being treated.
The motives and the precise death toll were not immediately clear. No group claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.
A witness who gave his name as Abayomi told AFP news agency at least 20 worshippers were killed. “I was passing through the area when I heard a loud explosion and gunshots inside the church,” he said.
Abayomi said he saw at least five gunmen on the church premises before he ran for safety.
‘Vile and satanic’
Ondo Governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said he was heading back to the state from the capital Abuja after the “unprovoked attack and killing of innocent people of Owo”.
“We shall commit every available resource to hunt down these assailants and make them pay,” he said in a statement, calling the assault “vile and satanic”.
While much of Nigeria has struggled with security issues, Ondo is widely known as one of the country’s most peaceful states.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the “heinous killing of worshippers”.
State police spokeswoman Ibukun Odunlami said the death toll is still unclear. “It’s still premature to say exactly how many people were killed but many worshippers lost their lives while others were injured in the attack.”
Africa’s most populous country has witnessed attacks and kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs, mostly in its northwest. Such attacks are rare in southern Nigeria.
The Catholic authority in the state confirmed the church attack, but denied the bishop and priests had been kidnapped as reports suggested on social media. (AFP)
