Terrorists crept inside St. Francis’ Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State on June 5, 2022, and assaulted unwary worshipers, killing 41 people. On Sunday, the church reopened, ten months after the attack, and worshipers remembered the tragic incident.
The St. Francis’ Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which was closed following an attack by some suspected terrorists 10 months ago, reopened for mass on Sunday as the entire world observed Easter, which is to remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As the bandits flung some explosives on the altar, scattering the worshipers, no fewer than 41 churchgoers were killed and 69 others were injured.
The church received a large number of gifts from individuals and business entities to help with the care of the remaining attack victims who were injured.
In addition, the state government has started building a memorial park in Owo town in memory of the attack’s fatal victims.
The park would be finished by May of this year, according to a pledge made by Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State.
As per customary, hundreds of worshipers flocked to the church on Sunday to celebrate Easter and to take in its fresh appearance, disregarding the awful incident that had befallen the building.
With their appearances and facial emotions, the worshippers filled the chapel to the brim with happiness and delight.
There were armed security personnel present, including both those in uniform and those wearing muftis, despite the calm general environment. They appeared to be there to ensure that there would be no disruption of law and order. While the personnel from the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Akure, were seen stationed on the grounds of the Catholic Church, patrol cars driven by members of the state police command were also spotted driving throughout the ancient city.
The worshipers were seen crying and unable to control their emotions as they shared their experiences with one another after meeting for the first time since the catastrophe. They recalled the ugly and gruesome killings that occurred on that fateful day. Some lost their loved ones.
One of the worshippers, Mr John Uche, who said he narrowly, escaped death when the attackers struck, expressed happiness over the reopening of the church, saying that for almost two months, he did not recover from the trauma.
The 45-year-old trader said, “In fact, I am very happy to be back in this church. It took me like two months to recover from that shock because I had never seen a thing like that in my life. While I was running for safety, I fell into a gutter and was seriously injured. But as it is, I know the church has put in place security measures, and I am also appealing to the government and the security agencies to be more proactive so that such an incident would not happen again.”
Another member of the church, Mrs Helen Idowu, said there was a need for the government and the security agencies to step up the security system for the protection of lives and properties. She lamented that it was unfortunate that the criminals were entering the church of God and killing innocent worshippers, and none of them had been arrested.
“Up until now, I remember the attack whenever I entered any church to worship; I have yet to recover from the shock. So we want the government to do more about security. Though Governor Akeredolu is trying his best in that area, we want him to do more. They should arrest the perpetrators and make them face justice. A church should be a safe place; we should not be worshipping God in fear,” Idowu lamented.
Even though the government is constructing a memorial park in honour of the victims, another female member of the church, Mrs Rita Monogbe did not see anything cheering in the memorial park constructed by the state government, saying seeing the park gave her unpleasant nostalgia, having lost her husband and two sisters-in-law to the brutal incident.
“My husband, two sisters-in-law, 10 and 18 years old, died and one of my sons had a serious wound. I don’t like the remembrance park planned by the state government in Owo because it would give us ugly memories. My husband was one of the policemen who died. I have received N500,000 from the church to help the family and me. There should be tight security in the church and the town because I didn’t want to come initially but was convinced to do so.”
During the homily, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade, decried the alleged insensitivity of the government to the protection of lives and properties of the citizens of the country. He said perpetrators of the attacks had not been arrested and brought to justice.
The cleric said, “We will do our best to recognise human dignity. I have never seen a nation be comfortable with seeing its citizens killed for the past 15 years. There is no apology from the government because it cannot protect its citizens. The government has failed us. On a daily basis, people are dying. What is the government doing? We are civilised people. The government must wake up and ensure that those who perpetrated evil here and in every area of the nation are brought to justice. The government has not come forward to apologise to the people for its failure.
“The killers should stop their evil deeds and stop killing people. Let us build a good country for ourselves, and work together so that, in the end, Nigeria can be at peace. Let us not be people who will live for nothing. Let us build a nation that we can be proud of.”
While praying for those who were involved in the incident, the bishop admonished, “Don’t be afraid; have hope in God – those of you who have been victims of the helplessness of the government. We will continue to help them. The blood of our people that died is crying for vengeance, and God should do what is necessary. I had not heard of those jailed for illegal killings. If you hear something, say something. All efforts to get information on those four arrested in the attack proved abortive. Some are still suffering, but the church will continue to comfort you to ensure that your wounds are healed and that everyone is properly taken care of. “
He confirmed that the church had spent over N35m on members’ welfare, and we would still spend almost N65m for the construction of the church, noting that some politicians donated money and “we have used the money to attend to our members’ needs.
He appreciated the state governor for personally helping the victims.
“Whatever we have spent came from the donors. We are still waiting for Federal Government. The FG is becoming so funny. These are your citizens. Let them know they belong to you. I have criticised you enough, but if you do well, I will praise you. There are still many people who have psychological problems. Some are still suffering psychologically. But we believe that with our support and prayers, they will return,” the cleric mentioned.
There was a thanksgiving during the mass while the attendees sang and danced to the altar to thank God for sparing their lives and those of their families.
However, when contacted by Punch about the development, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, said he was not aware that the church had been reopened.
The traditional ruler said, “You know, I am not a member of the Catholic Church. I am not aware of anything like that happening here.”