A presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has condemned the attack and killing of innocent worshippers at a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
Amaech,i in a statement released by his media office, commiserated with the affected families, St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the people of Owo Kingdom and the people and government of Ondo State, calling the sad event, “a terrible, absolutely vile and senseless murder of innocent citizens.”
The former governor of Rivers State and immediate past minister of Transportation, urged security agencies to collaborate and fish out the perpetrators, saying, “I feel so sad and livid that these criminals are so emboldened to carry out these barbaric attacks on the people in broad daylight. Our security agencies have to put heads together and smoke out these monsters and ensure they are punished, immobilized and totally flushed out.”
Also, former Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki has commiserated with the people of Owo Kingdom, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, the government, and people of the state on the sad incident.
In a statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, head of his Media Office, Saraki, whose mother, Mrs. Florence Saraki, is from Owo town, said the incident was a sad indication that the terrorists who have unleashed violence on the northern parts of the country in the past few years are spreading their evil tentacles to the western part and should be decisively contained before they further entrench themselves.
While condemning the attack on a place of worship where members of the congregation usually submit themselves totally to their maker and seek protection from God, the ultimate protector, Saraki added that the security agencies must wholesomely adopt the use of technology in fighting the terrorists and that strategic intelligence gathering, processing, and usage must be given priority in protecting the people against the non-state actors waging war against the country.
While commending the security services for the recent successes they had recorded in the fight against terrorism in the northeast zone, he said the insurgents dislodged in those areas would be looking for other soft areas to continue their evil acts.