resident Muhammadu Buhari condemned the “heinous killing of worshippers”.(File)
Lagos:
Gunmen with explosives stormed a Catholic church and opened fireplace in southwest Nigeria on Sunday, killing “many” worshippers and wounding others, the federal government and police mentioned.
The violence at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo city in Ondo State erupted through the morning service in a uncommon assault within the southwest of Nigeria, the place jihadists and legal gangs function in different areas.
Pope Francis mentioned in an announcement he had realized of the “loss of life of dozens of devoted”, many youngsters, through the celebration of the Christian vacation of the Pentecost.
“Whereas the main points of the incident are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and for the nation,” he mentioned.
No group claimed accountability for the assault.
The motives and the precise loss of life toll weren’t instantly clear, however President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the “heinous killing of worshippers”.
State police spokeswoman Ibukun Odunlami mentioned the gunmen additionally attacked the church with explosives, leaving an unknown variety of worshippers useless.
“It is nonetheless untimely to say precisely how many individuals have been killed. However many worshippers misplaced their lives whereas others have been injured within the assault,” she advised AFP.
A spokesman for Ondo State governor’s workplace mentioned they might not be giving an official casuality determine for the second.
However a witness, who gave his identify as Abayomi, advised AFP not less than 20 worshippers had died within the assault.
‘Vile and satanic assault’
“I used to be passing by the realm once I heard a loud explosion and gunshots contained in the church,” he mentioned.
He mentioned he noticed not less than 5 gunmen on the church premises earlier than he ran away for security.
Ondo state governor Oluwarotimi Oluwarotimi Akeredolu mentioned Sunday’s assault was a “vile and satanic assault” and appealed to the safety forces to trace down the assailants.
The assault comes a day earlier than the ruling APC social gathering begins primaries for its candidate within the 2023 election to exchange Buhari, a former military commander who steps down after two phrases in workplace.
Safety can be a significant problem for whoever wins the race to manipulate Africa’s most populous nation and the continent’s largest financial system.
Gun and bomb assaults are uncommon in Ondo state and different components of the southwest, however Nigeria’s navy is battling a 12-year-old jihadist insurgency within the northeast, gangs within the northwest and separatist agitation within the southeast.
Elements of northwest and north-central Nigeria specifically have been more and more suffering from closely armed gangs who raid villages and goal communities and colleges for mass kidnapping assaults.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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