Armed men attacked a Catholic church in the Ondo region on Sundayin southwestern Nigeria, killing scores of worshipers, according to the government and police.
The attack took place during morning mass at the San Francisco Catholic Church in the town of Owo, located in the southwest of the country, a region where jihadist and criminal gang attacks are rare.
“It is still early to say how many people died. But many worshipers lost their lives and others were injured.“Ibukun Odunlami, a police spokesman in the Ondo region, told AFP.
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Abayomi, a witness to the attack, explained that at least 20 worshipers were killed: “I was passing through the neighborhood when I heard a loud explosion and shots inside the church“.
At the moment, those responsible and the motivations for an attack are unknown.e, described by the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, as “a hateful murder of the faithful”.
After this massacre, Pope Francis reacted by lamenting the death of “dozens of faithful” and assured that he was praying for them, according to a statement from the pontiff’s press team.
For 12 years, Nigeria has been shaken by a jihadist insurrection in the northeast of the country, while criminal groups carry out mass kidnappings in the northwest and separatist groups operate in the southeast.
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AFP
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