Many worshippers killed as gunmen attack Owo church

The St Francis Catholic Church in Owo LGA of Ondo state was attacked by gunmen on Sunday.

TheCable understands that the incident, which occurred on the church premises, left many dead and several others injured.

The gunmen were said to have detonated explosives in the church after which they proceeded to fire several shots at the congregation.

Children are believed to be among those killed in the attack.

A witness, Kehinde Ogunkorode, said the incident caused pandemonium in the area as residents, who were taken by surprise, ran for safety.

The worship centre is directly behind the palace of the Olowo of Owo.

“As we were about to end the service, we started hearing gunshots and dynamites. Some of us locked ourselves in for some time. When we came out, we saw corpses all over the floor,” a priest in the church told BBC.

The injured victims have been taken to St Louis Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre in Owo.

The exact casualty figure from the attack is yet to be ascertained but witnesses put it above 20.

Odunlami Funmilayo, Ondo police spokesperson, said the commissioner of police has ordered the deployment of officers to fortify the community.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the assailants approached the church during the service, started shooting from outside the church while others numbering about four shot directly into the church,” she said.

“The CP while commiserating with the church, family of the deceased, the people of Owo and Ondo state government, has ordered immediate deployment of armed and specialised policemen to the area to restore normalcy and fortify the entire community.

“Meanwhile, the CP has equally ordered forensic investigation into the attack to ascertain the actual or remote cause(s) of the attack and for immediate arrest of the assailants as all hands are on deck to forestall any similar attack in any part of the state.”

The Owo church attack comes two weeks after a cleric of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and his son were abducted by gunmen along the Ifon-Okeluse road in Ose LGA of the state.

The abductors later contacted the family members of the victims and demanded the sum of N10 million as ransom.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated with new information.