Owo Church attack: We failed to protect victims, says Gov Akeredolu amid tears at funeral
Terrorists attacked the church, with 40 people confirmed dead after the incident.
Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo, says the federal and state governments failed to protect victims of the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo.
On June 5, gunmen attacked the church, with 40 people confirmed dead after the incident.
On Friday, the funeral for the slain worshippers was conducted at the Mydas Resort and Hotel in Owo.
The names and photographs of those who were killed in the church were published in the funeral handbook, while 74 names were listed as those who sustained injuries during the attack.
Speaking during the funeral, Akeredolu said those who committed the attack are “evil” people.
“We have failed to defend these people. Not because we have not tried, but because these forces on the other side are evil and they have support. They will not triumph over us forever,” he said.
“When I see the sea of heads that are here, it speaks volumes. What has happened to us in Owo in Ondo state is indescribable.
“A lot of words are used to qualify it — dastardly, horrendous. I still believe there are words to use to describe it, but I am still short of those words.
“We have just 22 (referring to the deceased) in this hall. A few of them have been buried because the relatives couldn’t wait till today. But as at the last count, these animals came to the church and murdered 40 people.”
It will be recalled that on Sunday June 5, an explosion, rocked the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State capital, which was immediately followed by sporadic shootings by gunmen suspected to be terrorists.
The explosion, which occurred on the church premises, left scores dead and many others injured. An eyewitness, Kehinde Ogunkorode, told THISDAY that the incident caused pandemonium in the area as residents, who were taken by surprise, ran for safety.
When THISDAY visited the scene of the incident, it was observed that the gunmen used dynamites to blow the altar of church while the service was going on. Parts of the altar POP caved in as the gunmen shot many worshipers. Pool of blood littered the floor of the church as corpses were moved to the Federal Medical Centre and St Louis Catholic Hospital, Owo, as well as those who sustained injuries.
In a move unprecedented, outraged President Muhammadu Buhari, has instructed an immediate mobilisation of all state resources, directed to finding and neutralising the criminals, who attacked the St Francis Catholic Church, Owo Kingdom, Ondo State, and killed scores of people, mostly women and children.