It was a tragic Sunday yesterday for members of St Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa in Owo, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, unknown gunmen attacked the church and left many worshippers dead and many others injured.
Eye witness told reporters that the gunmen came in a Volkswagen Golf 4 at 11:15 am and started shooting at the worshippers and threw explosives towards the altar.
Spokesman of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ijanusi Gbadebo, he was yet to ascertain the number of the dead or injured persons taken to the hospital, adding that the town was deserted almost immediately.
A priest in the church, Rev. Father Andrew Abayomi, said the attackers operated for about 25 minutes.
He said: “We were about to round off service. I had even asked people to start leaving. That was 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 took victims to the hospital.”
The Nation reports that a motorcyclist, Taiwo Kasali, claimed that Amotekun Corps members pursued four suspects fleeing in a golf Volkswagen car.
Condemning the malicious killings of people in Owo, Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Bishop Jude Arogundade, who visited the scene, described the attack as madness.
