More than 50 persons have been gunned down inside a church in Owo, Ondo State, with early reports saying scores have been killed.
Eyewitnesses say the unidentified gunmen invaded the Catholic Church on Sunday, June 5, 2022 and began shooting at worshippers, including children, sporadically from point blank range.
Other reports say the assailants first detonated an explosive on the premises to cause pandemonium, before shooting at the worshippers who were scampering for safety.
The incident occurred at St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-Oluwa Street, Owo LGA. The church is directly behind the Palace of the Olowo of Owo.
Ondo State has been the epicenter of farmers-herders clashes in Nigeria’s southern region in the last decade.
We’d update this news story as soon as we have more information from the southwestern state.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, has been battling a spate of insecurity since 2009, with successive governments grappling with keeping terrorists, bandits and kidnappers at bay.
Join the Conversation