Not less than twenty-five persons have been feared dead today as suspected bandits opened fire on worshipers at the St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, in Owo council area of Ondo State.
A member of the Church which is located Owa-luwa Street, in Owo council area, Kehinde Ogunkorode who confirmed the incident, said the gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked the church during Sunday service and opened fire on the worshippers.
Speaking to Vanguard, church member, Ogunkorode, “lt was like a movie, they invaded the church and shot indiscriminately. Several people were killed including children and women.
“It was when they wanted to abduct the priest that they threw dynamite into the church.
The state police spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami said the command would speak on the ugly incident later. However, heads of state security agencies have rushed to the scene of horrific incident.
However, another source confirmed that about 25 corpses have been moved out of the church with many casualties lying at the Federal Medical Center, Owo, for medical attention.
According to him “some gunmen invaded the church during service, opened fire and killed no fewer than 25 members of the church.
“The congregants were caught unaware by the killers. They also used explosives but many were shot.
Apart from worshippers, the bandits also killed passerby hit by stray bullets.
Chief Medical Director (CMD) of FMC, Owo, Dr Liasu Adeagbo, said many medical personnel have been deployed to cater for the injured persons.
He said it was still too early to speak on the issue. But a nurse at Owo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was not enough medical personnel on ground to attend to the victims at the emergency unit of the hospital. She said many of the victims were taken to a private hospital.
Watch the graphic video from the horrific incident.
