Nation
Owo Massacre: Death Toll Hits 40 As Akeredolu Plans Memorial Park
The Ondo State Government has said that the death toll from the Sunday terrorists attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, is now 40.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Ajaka said as of Tuesday midnight, the state government’s record showed that those affected by the attack are 127 while 40 were confirmed dead.
The Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade, had earlier put the casualty figure at 38.
Ajaka, in the statement said, “The situation report as of 12 midnight on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 is that at St. Louis Hospital, Owo, 39 people were involved and 13 deaths.
“At the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, the total number of persons involved is 84 and number of corpses in FMC mortuary is 25; 17 females and eight males”.
He also said two deaths were recorded from two private hospitals in the state.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has assured the Catholic Church that the state government will provide land in a good environment for the mass burial of the victims.
Akeredolu gave the assurance while receiving a team of Catholic bishops from the South-West led by Archbishop Leke Abegunrin, at his residence in Owo.
The governor, who also confirmed the new casualty figure, said the new figure followed the harmonisation of reports from various hospitals.
He said, “We will have a Memorial Park here where those who died in the attack will be buried.
“We will find a good place as a Memorial Park. It will also be my suggestion that even if there are people who have retrieved their family or members of their family, we must still have a symbolic grave there for them. And it will be there forever, it is not something we can forget and we should never forget it”.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Owo Local Government Area said it had begun preparation to move corpses of its members who were killed in the attack to the South-East for burial.
The chairman of the group in the local government, Mr Anayo Okorie, said they had started meetings to discuss on how to convey the bodies to their various states.
He said, “We are here to discuss the way forward for those that died. We cannot give you the actual figures of the Igbos that died because they were many.
“We are planning on how to take the bodies back home. It affected everybody, that is why you see shops still closed”.
The Arewa Consultative Forum has also condemned the attack in a statement by its Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, in Kaduna on Wednesday.
The ACF described the attack as an unimaginable erosion of inhumanity enveloping the nation aimed at setting peace-loving people against one another.
Also, the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association, South-West zone, in a statement by its chairman and secretary, Dr. Ogunlaja Oladayo and Dr. Bolaji Salako respectively, has asked the government to arrest the perpetrators of the attack.
The association also called on its members in Ondo and neighbouring states to provide the needed health care services for those affected.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
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