Owo Massacre: Bishop Decries Non-prosecution Of Attackers

The Bishop of Ondo Diocese of the Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Jude Arogundade, has condemned the non-trial of terrorists who attacked the Owaluwa, Owo parish of the church and killed 41 congregants.

The attack took place on June 5, 2022 at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo, Ondo State.

Arogundande said incessant  killings of Nigerians across the country was due to the inability of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to secure them.

 The clergyman who also berated the Buhari administration for failing to protect Nigerians, lamented that till date the government had not deemed it fit to apologise to the citizens and admit that it had let them down.

 Speaking on Sunday at the reopening of St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo, Ondo State after the June 5, 2022 attack by terrorists, the cleric wondered why nobody had been prosecuted since the invasion and killing of the victims.

 No fewer than 41 congregants died in the attack and several others sustained varying degrees of injury when the terrorists threw dynamite into the church.

Addressing the church, Arogundade admonished the congregants, who came in large numbers, including the survivors of the attack, that they should not be discouraged by the June 5, 2022 incident.

 According to him, the church was shut for 43 weeks during which the survivors were treated and the building was renovated.

While lamenting that he had never seen a nation where its leadership is so comfortable with the killing of its citizens as Nigeria, the Bishop however, prayed to God to touch the heart of the perpetrators of these heinous attacks to sheath their swords.

His said, “Let our faith that has remained our strength continue to help us to deal with the issues of life and to overcome all that comes against us and the gospel of Christ.

“Our lord, Jesus Christ was sacrificed for us, this morning we are here with mixed feelings. For about 10 months, we couldn’t open the church because of attacks that happened in this church on the 5th  June 2022.

 “I have never seen a nation so comfortable watching the killings of its citizens on daily basis in hundreds and nothing has been done for the past 15 years.’’

 “The government must wake up and show strength and courage and make sure those who carried out the evil that took place in this church and the evil going around our country are brought to book and punished accordingly.’’

Meanwhile, Mrs Attah Margaret, who lost her two legs in the attack, was present in the service.

Thanking God for counting her worthy to witness the reopening of the church, she said, ‘I thank God that I survived, though not with a complete body. I lost my two legs and one of my eyes.

 “The government, the church, and some philanthropists tried for us. They gave my two children scholarships. One is in primary school while the other is in secondary school.”