Nigeria, attack on a Catholic church: 21 people killed, many are children

An attack that surprised everyone. While most of Nigeria grapples with security concerns, including Islamic extremism, Ondo’s was known as one of the most peaceful areas in the country. “We cannot continue to tolerate reality being concealed. Pentecost Sunday and in Nigeria it was a massacre. Going to church, attending Mass knowing that you can die. Acs, indignant, pray for these brothers of ours!”. The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need thus comments on the attack on the church in southwestern Nigeria, and in a tweet publishes a photo that testifies to the massacre. The Nigerian army, in difficulty, is engaged on several fronts to try to stem the insecurity in the country. A jihadist uprising has raged for 12 years in the north-east, bands of looters and kidnappers terrorize the north-west and the center, while the south-east is the scene of separatist movements.

The diocese denies the kidnapping of the priest –

“All the priests in the parish are safe now and no one has been kidnapped” as was reported by some media. The clarification comes from the Nigerian diocese of Ondo. The bishop, Msgr. Jude Ayodeji Arogundade, is on the spot and “asks to remain calm and pray so that peace and normality return to the community”, reads a note from the diocese hit by the attack on the day of Pentecost. .

The priest’s story: “The mass was about to end then hell” –

One of the priests of the St. Francis Catholic Church where the massacre took place, Father Andrew Abayomi, told the BBC that the terrorists struck while the religious service was about to end. “We were about to conclude the service. I even asked people to start leaving, it is at that moment that we began to hear the shots coming from different parts,” said the religious. “We hid inside the church”, said Father Abayomi, reiterating that “some people had left when the attack took place. We closed ourselves in the church for 20 minutes. When we realized that they were gone , we opened the church and took the victims to the hospital, “he added.

At least 5 gunmen –

“I was passing by when I heard a loud explosion and shots inside the church.” He was told by a witness of the attack in the church stating that he saw at least five armed men inside the church before fleeing for safety. Responsibility for the attack has not been claimed at this time. According to the spokesman for the state police, Ibukun Odunlami, they attacked the church with firearms and explosives.

The Pope: “I pray for the victims and for all of Nigeria” –

The Pope learned of the attack on the church in Ondo, Nigeria, and the death of dozens of faithful, many children, during the celebration of Pentecost. While the details of the incident are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and for the country, painfully affected in a moment of celebration, and entrusts both to the Lord, to send his Spirit to comfort them.

President Muhammadu: “We will not surrender to evil” –

Nigerian President Muhammadu condemned the massacre of faithful in the Catholic church of St. Francis in Owo, declaring that “this country will never surrender to evil and evil and darkness will never prevail over light. In the end, Nigeria will win”. The Punch website reports it citing a statement released by his staff about him.
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