Nigeria: Mourning and Anger in Owo, Ondo State following deadly church attack
After sadness and fear, it is anger that has emerged in Owo town,
southwest Nigeria, following a deadly church attack in the
country’s relatively peaceful region.
Women marched in protest outside the traditional palace of Owo on
Tuesday.
Some of them calls for revenge against those responsible for the
attack in the St. Francis Catholic Church.
‘We are here as market women, Yemi Mahmud said, we are here to
commiserate with the people of Owo, we are to say that enough is
enough, we have a parlance in Owo, we say that “We don’t have war
in Owo” it has never happened, we don’t have war in Owo, Owo is a
peaceful place but this has happened now, it’s strange to us.”
It’s an entire community that is still traumatized by the murder
of at least 22 people including children.
If President Buhari ordered a full-scale investigation, the Ondo
Police Command has not made any arrests yet. According to a
spokeswoman, there was at least 5 assailants.
Meanwhile, Schools and public gathering spots remained closed in
Owo on Tuesday. The Owo kingdom’s monarch, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin
Ogunoye, brought together ethnic leaders for discussions as he
expressed his fears the violence could escalate further.
Owo’s monarch, warned of a humanitarian crisis should the internal
conflict expand further into southern Nigeria and force millions
of people to flee.
