The gunmen who killed many worshippers on Sunday during an attack at the Catholic church in Owo, Ondo state, escaped the scene of the incident using a stolen vehicle, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), said on Monday.
The force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who made the disclosure in a statement, said preliminary investigation by the police showed that some of the gunmen disguised as congregants, while others took different positions around the church before firing shots.
“The gunmen, from preliminary investigations, invaded the church with arms and materials suspected to be explosives,” the statement reads.
“Police investigators who were part of the first responders deployed to the scene have recovered pellets of expended AK-47 ammunition while the Explosive Ordnance Devices – Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Explosives (EOD-CBRNE) unit confirmed the use of Explosives as fragments of the IEDs used were found and after thorough sweeping of the scene, 3 unexploded IEDs were recovered at the scene of the incident.
“Further investigations revealed that some of the gunmen disguised as congregants, while other armed men who had positioned themselves around the church premises from different directions, fired into the church.
“The assailants fled the scene using a Nissan Sunny car with Reg No. AKR 895 AG which was snatched from the owner, and escaped through Owo/Ute road.
“The vehicle has been recovered while the owner of the vehicle is currently assisting the police in its investigations.”
Victims recount ordeal…
Josephine Ojeloni, a victim of the attack on a church in Ondo, said she climbed a fence despite being injured, in order to escape.
Ojeloni, who recounted her ordeal to reporters at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, said the mass had barely ended when the gunmen struck, as she thought the gunshots were sounds from fireworks.
“We had finished celebrating mass. Later, we heard gunshots from the back because I was in the middle. At first, I wasn’t sure what it was, but we heard more sounds, then people started running from the back into the church. People were falling down from being shot,” she said.
“I was also running. I got to where I thought I could escape but there was no way, so I fell on top of others. The next thing I saw, I was hit. My leg was finished. But I thank God I am alive. I know it is a question of time; the pain will stop and I will walk with my legs.”
Asked if the victims are receiving adequate medical treatment, she said the medical personnel are “really trying”.
“They are really trying. They are trying to make sure the injured survive,” she said.
“You can see how my leg is. If you had seen me yesterday, you’d have run away. With the wound on my leg, I still climbed a fence to escape. The flesh was scattered and dropping on the floor as I was moving.”
Another victim, Benjamin Asogbuwa, who is also receiving treatment at FMC, said despite lying down under the church’s pews, he was still hit by a bullet.
“We were holding service not knowing that the enemies were lurking around,” he said.
“Immediately after the service, just as the reverend father said ‘go in peace’, we started hearing gunshots outside. We thought it was a knockout or a trick. So, one of us went to the door to check what was going on. He saw them coming with guns and everything.
“He closed the door and ran back. While still running, they started shooting again. They entered through the door, the window, shooting and throwing dynamite.
“I was lying under the pew but one leg was outside. The bullet hit me in the leg. The people around me died including a baby of about three. It was horrible. We least expected something like that in the heart of town.”
Asogbuwa called on the federal government to find lasting solution to the insecurity ravaging the country.
“The government has to sit up about this insecurity issue. It is like we don’t have a country anymore,” he said.
“If at the heart of Owo here, nobody is safe, where do we go? And they are preparing for the election. Is the election for the living or the dead? We are fed up with insecurity.
Nobody is safe anywhere anymore. In your home, in the marketplace, when travelling, even in the house of God. It is unbelievable but it happened.
“They should forget about 2023 and save lives now. God is not happy with this country anymore. The leadership has failed us. What is the essence of staying back in this country? What is the essence of the election, and who is it for when everybody is dying every day?”
Leave a Reply