One of the priests at St. Francis Catholic Church on Owa-luwa Street in Owo, Ondo State, Reverend Father Andrew Abayomi, has described how the church was attacked.
When terrorists bombed the church early on Sunday morning, Daily Trust reported on the number of worshippers who were murdered in the attack.
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In an interview with BBC Yoruba, the priest stated that the attack by the alleged terrorists occurred right before the conclusion of the day's ceremony.
"We were going to finish up the service for the day. Even before then, I had advised people to start fleeing, and that's when we started hearing gunfire coming from all different directions.
We hid inside the church when the assault began, but when it was over, some people had already fled. For the next twenty minutes, we were confined inside the church. As soon as we learned that they had left, we opened the church's doors and immediately began transporting the casualties to the hospital.
The Governor of the state, Rotimi Akeredolu, has provided his response to the incident that occurred in his hometown.
He called the incident "vile and diabolical," and he said it was a planned assault on the peace-loving people of Owo Kingdom, who had enjoyed relatively stable conditions over the course of the years.
"In Owo, today is a sad and dreary Sunday. Our emotions have been weighed down. The enemies of the people have launched an assault on the peace and quiet that we have here. This is not only a professional setback but also an assault on our beloved state.
I had a conversation with the Most Reverend Jude Arogundade, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, and he informed me that he is currently travelling to Owo. In a similar vein, I was forced to cut short my party's national assignment in Abuja in order to travel to Owo as quickly as possible.
"This is a turn of events that was not anticipated. To put it mildly, I am taken aback by this.
Despite this, we are going to devote every resource at our disposal to tracking down these criminals and making them pay for their actions.
In our efforts to purge our state of criminals, we are not going to give in to the schemes of callous individuals under any circumstances.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Owo, particularly the families of those who were murdered in this heinous and senseless act of violence," she said. My deepest condolences go out to the Olowo of Owo, Oba Gbadegesin Ogunoye, and the Catholic Church in general on the loss of their loved one.
"I urge the citizens of our nation to maintain their composure and stay watchful. Do not try to enforce the law on your own.
I have discussed the situation with the leaders of the various security agencies. I have also been given the assurance that security operatives will be dispatched to Owo kingdom in order to monitor the situation and help restore normalcy. Akeredolu said.