The attackers stormed Owo City Church and began “shooting sporadically,” Adeyemi Olayemi, a lawmaker representing Owo’s constituency in the Ondo State Assembly, told CNN. .
At least 28 people were killed, Olayemi said.
“The attackers came with motorbikes and started firing sporadically,” he said. “They killed a lot of people inside the church.”
The victims are being taken to Owo Federal Medical Center, Olayemi said.
State police were unable to confirm the total number of victims at St. Francis Catholic Church, a police spokesman told CNN, nor could they identify those responsible for the attack.
Ondo State Governor Arakunrin Akeredolu said he was “surprised” by the attack and called it “Black Sunday in Owo”.
“I am deeply saddened by the unprovoked attack and murder of innocent people in Owo, who will be worshiped today in St. Francis Catholic Church,” he said on Twitter, adding that “the vile and satanic attack it is a calculated assault on peace. Dear people of the Owo Kingdom who have enjoyed relative peace over the years. “
The governor promised to “commit all available resources to hunt down these aggressors and make them pay.”
“We will never bow to the machinations of heartless elements in our determination to free our state from criminals,” he continued, urging the public not to “take the laws into your own hands.”
“I urge our people to remain calm and vigilant. Do not take the law into your own hands. I have spoken to the heads of the security agencies. They have also assured me that the security guards will be deployed to monitor and restore security. normalcy in the kingdom of Owo. “Akeredolu wrote.
Lethal motorcycle gang attacks are rare in southwestern Nigeria. These attacks are more widespread in areas of the north of the country, which is constantly harassed by Boko Haram terrorists and prowling terrorists known locally as “bandits.” The attack on Owo’s church comes a week after another tragedy broke out in the church, when 31 people and others were killed. injured in a stampede at a church ceremony in the southeastern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt.