According to Funmilayo Ibukun Odunlami, the state’s police spokesperson, gunmen opened fire outside and inside the church, killing or injuring worshippers.
At least 50 people, including women and children, were killed by shooters who attacked a Catholic church in southwest Nigeria during mass on June 5.
The gunmen opened fire on people outside and inside the church building, killing and injuring worshippers, according to Funmilayo Ibukun Odunlami, the state’s police spokesperson.
Police are investigating the cause of the attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, but she didn’t say how many people were killed or injured. Ondo state Governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who visited the attack scene and injured persons in the hospital, called the incident “a great massacre” that should never happen again.
There was no immediate indication of the attackers’ identity or motive. “It is so sad that while the Holy Mass was going on, unknown gunmen attacked St Francis Catholic Church… leaving many feared dead and many others injured and the Church violated,” said Catholic Church spokesman in Nigeria, Reverend Augustine Ikwu.
The bishop and priests from the parish were unharmed, Ikwu said. Reuters reported that 50 bodies had been brought into two hospitals in Owo from the attack. He also said there was a need for blood donations to treat the injured, though he declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims of the attack who were “painfully stuck in a moment of celebration.” President Muhammadu Buhari also condemned the attack, calling it “heinous.” The country faces an Islamist insurgency in the northeast and armed gangs that perpetrate attacks and kidnappings for ransom, primarily in the northwest.
In the southwest, attacks such as this are rare.
