Gunmen kill worshippers during church service in Ondo state Nigeria

Gunmen attacked a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria’s Ondo state during mass on Sunday, killing several people.

Many people have been feared dad as an explosion rocked St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, in the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State today, Sunday, June 5.

According to sources, the explosion on the church grounds killed several people and injured many more.

An eyewitness Kehinde Ogunkorode, said the incident caused chaos in the vicinity, with residents fleeing for safety after being caught off guard.

Owo is the hometown of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

A doctor at a hospital in Owo, a town in the state in Nigeria’s southwest, told Reuters that “several worshipers were brought in dead”.

Funmilayo Ibukun Odunlami, police spokesperson for Ondo state, said “there was an incident today at the Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo” and police would issue a statement soon.

Local media said gunmen had fired at worshippers and detonated explosives at the church.

Africa’s most populous country has witnessed attacks and kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs, mostly in its northwest. Such attacks are rare in southwestern Nigeria.

Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said he was heading back to the state from the capital Abuja after the “unprovoked attack and killing of innocent people of Owo.”

“We shall commit every available resource to hunt down these assailants and make them pay,” he said in a statement.