Nigeria: at least 21 dead following a deadly attack in a church

A massacre took place in Owo, Sunday June 5, in the south-west of Nigeria. The mass was coming to an end and the church was filled with faithful. A commando of several assailants fired automatic weapons from the windows. Witnesses also heard explosions. “They fired sporadically towards the sacristy, where the faithful had taken refuge. They also used explosives”testifies Father Vincent Anadi, priest of the parish of Saint-Francis.

The assailants fled and the authorities did not release the exact number of victims. They would be several dozen, including many children. “I saw my two children injured in the church. I took them to this hospital, and I saw so many wounded, and dead“, says Nzeadu Paulinus. In the hospitals in which the wounded are taken care of, the survivors are devastated. The bloody assault has not been claimed. This region of the south-west is usually spared from jihadist violence, which affects rather the north of the country.The ruling party launches, Monday, June 6, in its primary for the presidential election of 2023.