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Bandits Kill Over 25 Worshippers In Ondo Catholic Church …Buhari, Akeredolu, Afenifere, Others Condemn Attack
No fewer than 25 persons were feared dead, yesterday, as suspected bandits opened fire on worshipers at the St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, in Owo Local Government Area, in the Ondo State capital, Akure.
The state police spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, said the command would speak on the ugly incident later.
A member of the St Francis Catholic Church, Kehinde Ogunkorode, confirmed that gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, attacked the church, killing no fewer than 25 worshippers.
Ogunkorode said that the bandits, numbering five, stormed the church during service and shot members indiscriminately.
According to him, “lt was like a movie, they invaded the church and shot indiscriminately. Several people were killed, including children and women.
“It was when they wanted to abduct the priest that they threw dynamite into the church”.
Another source confirmed that no fewer than 25 corpses have been moved out of the church with many casualties lying at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, for medical attention.
According to him, “Some gunmen invaded the church during service, opened fire and killed no fewer than 25 members of the church.
“The congregants were caught unawares by the killers. They also used explosives but many were shot”, he said.
Also speaking, one of the priests at St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, Owo, Ondo State, Father Andrew Abayomi, has given an account of how the church was attacked.
Abayomi, who spoke during an interview with BBC Yoruba, said suspected terrorists struck as the church service was wrapping up.
He said, “We were about to round off service. I had even asked people to start leaving, that was how we started hearing gunshots from different angles.
“We hide inside the church but some people had left when the attack happened. We locked ourselves in the church for 20 minutes. When we heard that they had left, we opened the church and rushed victims to the hospital”, Abayomi said.
Reacting to the incident, President Muhammadu Buhari, expressed shock and sadness over the heinous killing of worshippers, yesterday, at the St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, Owo Kingdom, in Ondo State.
Buhari, in his condemnation of the dastardly act, said that eternal sorrow awaits those behind killing both here on earth and in the hereafter.
The president’s expression of grief was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina.
Buhari, in the statement said, “Only fiends from the nether region could have conceived and carried out such dastardly act, adding that eternal sorrow awaits them both on earth here, and ultimately in the hereafter.”
He mourned the dead, condoled with their families, the Catholic Church, and the Government of Ondo State, charging emergency agencies to swing into action, and bring succour to the wounded.
The statement quoted him as saying, “No matter what, this country shall never give in to evil and wicked people, and darkness will never overcome the light. Nigeria will eventually win.”
Also reacting, the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, vowed to hunt down assailants behind the killing of innocent people of Owo, worshiping at the St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, yesterday.
The governor, who described the incident as a vile and satanic attack, said he was saddened by the calculated assault on the peace-loving people of Owo Kingdom who have enjoyed relative peace over the years.
Akeredolu’s reaction was contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, saying, “It is a black Sunday in Owo. Our hearts are heavy. Our peace and tranquillity have been attacked by the enemies of the people. This is a personal loss, an attack on our dear state.
“I have spoken to the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, Most Reverend Jude Arogundade, who is presently on his way to Owo. Similarly, I have had to cut short my party’s national assignment in Abuja and visit Owo immediately.
“This is an unexpected development. I am shocked to say the least. Nevertheless, we shall commit every available resource to hunt down these assailants and make them pay. We shall never bow to the machinations of heartless elements in our resolves to rid our state of criminals.
“I commiserate with my people in Owo, particularly families of those who lost their lives to this ugly and unfortunate attack. I extend my condolences to Olowo of Owo, Oba Gbadegesin Ogunoye as well as the Catholic Church.
“I urge our people to remain calm and vigilant. Do not take laws into your hands. I have spoken to the heads of the security agencies. I have equally been assured that security operatives would be deployed to monitor and restore normalcy to Owo kingdom,” Akeredolu said.
In his remarks, Leader of the Yoruba self-determination movement, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, Prof. Banji Akintoye, described the attack on Christian worshipers at St. Francis Catholic Church, by terrorists suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, as a declaration of war against the Yoruba people.
Akintoye said, “The effrontery of the Fulani marauders needs to be frankly and courageously confronted so as to prove to their sponsors that the Yoruba people can never be intimidated or subjugated.”
The Ilana group’s leader, in a statement by the Communications Secretary, Mr Maxwell Adeleye, titled, “Owo Catholic church attack is a declaration of war against Yoruba people – Akintoye”, called on Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, to declare an emergency against the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the state with immediate effect.
He said, “We have stated it very expressly that the Yoruba people need to negotiate their exit from Nigeria as a matter of urgency, but our partisan political actors in Yorubaland never took us serious. We warned them that there’s fire on the mountain, but we were mocked because of their personal aggrandisement.
“Today, we have all been encircled, most especially, in Lagos. For herdsmen to have the effrontery of bombarding a church in Yorubaland to kill some people shows that we are now in a realistic danger.
“My urgent advice to Governor Akeredolu is to pick up the gauntlet and declare an emergency against the activities of all Fulani herdsmen in the state with immediate effect. We have now been taken for granted. We need not pretend anymore. We must demand unanimously, an exit from Nigeria.
“We, the Yoruba people, cannot live in the same country with characters whose idea of common citizenship in Nigeria is to brutalise, subjugate and even exterminate us. It is time to leave these characters now. All stakeholders – the elites, traditional rulers, and our women should act now.
“All the South-West states, including the Yoruba leaders in Kogi and Kwara states should equally declare an emergency against the activities of Fulani herdsmen. We must now take our destinies into our hands,” he said.
Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, also condemned the attack on worshippers of Owo Catholic Church, where many were feared killed as several others sustained life-threatening injuries.
Adams, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media,Mr. Kehinde Aderemi, said the incident was ungodly, and it is capable of threatening the foundation and existence of Nigeria.
He described the perpetrators of the gory attack as evil, saying they have sinned against God and should be ready to face the wrath of the Most High God.
Expressing concern on the spate of insecurity across the country, the Yoruba generalissimo said: “Cases of Boko Haram and Bandits and other criminal elements always attacking churches and mosques have simply showed the failures of the government.It has also exposed the crass incompetence of Nigeria’s leaders and the security apparatus.
“Reports at my disposal showed clearly that the attackers actually disguised as worshippers of the church,planted an explosive device within the church premises and carried out their evil attack on innocent worshippers.
“They later kidnapped the Reverend Father, leaving worshippers cold dead in the pool of their blood.
“The criminals, according to reports, did not come with vehicles, they hijacked vehicle on the road to convey their victims.
“Meanwhile, owner of the hijacked vehicle had gone to Owo A. Division to report the incident, even as all the roads in the ancient town had reportedly been deserted as people had stayed off the roads.
“The Federal Government must rise to its responsibility, begin thorough investigation into the attack and also bring the perpetrators of this gory incident to book.Investigation into the Owo Catholic bomb attack should not be swept under the carpet. Those that carried out the attack are not ghost,they must be apprehended immediately.”
While condoling with the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and the Olowo of Owo, Oba Gbadegesin Ajibade Ogunoye, Adams, however, urgedthe governor not to relent in his efforts to secure the state, saying that Ondo State would not succumb to the will of criminals that are ready to truncate the peace of the state.
“The video clips and pictures of the deadly attack on worshippers could best be imagined.Such attack would definitely not happen in a saner clime where there is effective security.It would not happen in a country where lives of the citizens are precious to the government.
“However, at this sober time, I feel the pain even as I condole with the governor,the royal father, the good people of Owo town, especially, those that have lost their loved- ones to this cruel attack.The attackis a condemnable act,and a sad one for that matter.It is an attempt to destabilise the state and make life unbearable to the people”, he said.
Similarly, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, said that the Owo attack in which church worshippers were murdered at St Francis Catholic Church, was a direct attack on Yoruba race.
It’s National Organising Secretary, Abagun Kole Omololu, said that “The massacre in Owo Chatholic church is a direct attack on Yoruba land.
“It is directed at Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for his unflinching support for security in Yoruba land by championing the Amatekun security outfits, his stringent upholding of the open gracing law and for his ‘big mouth’ about Southern co-operation for equity and justice in Nigeria.
“We will not succumb into terrorist threat or attack, they will not be allowed to bring down our civilisation.
“We will hunt the killers down. Citizen should not take law into their hands by attacking innocent northerners, only the terrorists, who are mostly foreign Fulani, should be fished out and finish off by the security forces.
“This attack is to course confusion and course war into our land. We should not play into their hands.”
Omololu said that “This evil is condemned in the strongest term. We commensurate with the government and people of Ondo State, the Catholic Church, the Olowo of Owo and the people of Owo”.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara says Rivers State remains the best investment destination for investors in the oil and gas sector.
Governor Fubara stated that since the economic development of Rivers State is closely connected to the growth of the oil and gas industry, his administration has continued to collaborate with the Federal Government and host communities to protect natural assets in the sector.
The Governor stated this during the Nigeria and Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours (NESH) Foundation Oil and Gas Roundtable in Port Harcourt.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Benibo Anabraba, he pointed out that since the economy of Nigeria relies substantially on the oil and gas sector, his administration will continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ramp up production.
“The Nigerian oil and gas sector is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy, contributing over 90% of Federal Government’s foreign exchange earnings. Similarly, Rivers State, home to numerous national and multinational oil and gas companies, is the centre of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon industry, with the State’s oil and gas resources generating over 40% of the country’s revenue.
“?Considering this, the survival and economic development of Rivers State are closely connected to the growth of the oil and gas industry. That is why, since the beginning of this administration, we have focused on safeguarding the national oil and gas assets in collaboration with the Federal Government, security agencies, communities and other stakeholders, and we will maintain this commitment for as long as it is necessary.
“Furthermore, we have established and maintained a conducive, peaceful, and secure environment for companies to open and flourish in the State as part of a strategic plan to stimulate our economy, generate jobs, and enhance the well-being of our citizens.
“We therefore recognise and applaud the vital role that indigenous companies are currently playing in bridging gaps and advancing the development of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry,” he stressed.?
Governor Fubara affirmed that Nigerian-funded companies can only succeed and make meaningful contributions to the nation’s economic prosperity when challenges that limit the nation are effectively tackled, and expressed his administration’s stand to support indigenous organisations such as the Nigeria and Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours (NESH) Foundation.
Declaring the roundtable open, the Governor assured the Nigerian-Owned companies in the oil and gas sector, that “we are ready and willing to respond positively to any administrative, policy, or legislative recommendations within our jurisdiction as a subnational State.”
The Founder of the Nigeria and Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours (NESH) Foundation, Mr Emeka ugwu-Ozu, disclosed that the summit, held only in an oil and gas producing place, is a forum for all in the industry to brainstorm and suggest best practices for local players.
“This roundtable discussion takes place in only oil and gas producing states, and it is intentional. And that is to make sure that sooner, it becomes like what we say is the equivalent of Houston in the United States of America.
“I would say that from what I have seen so far, Rivers State is back and open, safe and good for business. The oil and gas players should come and see what we have seen,” he said.
Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Lady Valerie Fubara, has lauded the commitment, solidarity and pivotal role of women in promoting peace and enterprise development in Rivers State.
Lady Fubara spoke at the second edition of ‘Women Converge,’ a special programme organized by Rivers Women Unite for Sim, an NGO, at the main bowl of the Alfred Diete-Spiff Sports Complex in Port Harcourt, last Thursday.
She said women in the state had tremendously impacted the state positively through their prayers, careers, contributions to the home fronts, and expressed appreciation to Rivers women, for their unwavering support to her husband, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, while urging them to continue to pray for the state.
“Once again, let me use this occasion to thank Rivers women for their support both in prayers and solidarity with me and my family. You have been wonderful. I can’t reward all that you do, but God in heaven who sees in secret will surely reward you openly.
“Truly today, marks another milestone in our effort to shape the society for good and lending our support for the sustenance of peace and development of Rivers State in particular and Nigeria at large. Without doubt, the prayers of our women avails much in every situation.
“Let me enjoin our women to remain prayerful because God is ever ready to answer our prayers. In all that we do, we must not forget the hand of God and often seek Him for direction and help. You have always been steadfast and I urge you not to relent, and together we will move our society forward. Whatever you do, putting your trust in God will certainly succeed”.
The Rivers State first Lady described the theme of the event, “Women in An Evolving World” as apt and, deeply reflective of the very essence of actions and strategies that women adopt to navigate the new world order.
She noted that despite the complexities of managing the home front and the constraints of economic realities, women had demonstrated formidable strength and resilience to confront the odds of life.
“This Converge underscores the resilience of our women to succeed no matter the odds, especially with absolute faith in God and determination for greater accomplishments.”
“Whether in the industry, business, agriculture, public service or even in politics, they have always shown strong determination to adapt and to accomplish like others.
“Our natural state notwithstanding our focus has always been to reach for the sky like every other person and as Rivers women we have always been pacesetters.
The Keynote Speaker, Pastor Eno Jerry Eze, described women as the foundation of every society, noting that the development of every society depends on the strength of womanhood.
In their good will messages, notable Rivers women who attended the event expressed optimism over the prospects of sustainable peace and development in Rivers State, and reiterated their support for the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Some dignitaries that attended the event include former Commissioner for Environment in Rivers State, Prof Roseline Konya; foremost activist, Ann Kio Briggs; wife of the former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Dr Mrs Christie Toby; President of the Port Harcourt Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture, PHACCIMA, Dr Chinyere Nwoga; Pastor Ene Secondus, among others.
Highlights of the event were ministrations, cutting of cake and special prayers for Rivers State.
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Fubara Frowns At Slow Pace Of Ndele–Omofo–Egmini–Agba-Ndele Road Project ….Says Contract May Be Reviewed
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of work on the 14.5-kilometer Ndele/Omofo/Egamini/Agba-Ndele Road project located off the East–West Road in Emohua Local Government Area.
Addressing newsmen during an inspection tour of the project on Tuesday, the Governor noted that the pace and quality of work being delivered by the contracting firm, Messrs Stream Co. & Equipment Limited, fell below acceptable standards.
He was accompanied on the tour by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Dr. Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who briefed the Governor on the status of the project and adjoining infrastructure.
Governor Fubara, who appeared visibly unsatisfied with what he saw on the stretch of the road, said his administration would not condone mediocrity or allow public funds to be wasted on underperforming projects. He, therefore, hinted that a review of the contract may be imminent to ensure the delivery of quality infrastructure to the people.
“I can say here already that the contractor handling the road from the bridge to the East–West Road is not doing a good job. I’m not happy about it. When I get back, there will be a need to review that contract because I’m not impressed. They don’t have the capacity, and we need capacity because we must have value for whatever money we’re spending,” the Governor said.
The Governor, however, commended Setraco Nigeria Limited for the standard and pace of work on the 240-meter Agba-Ndele/Abua Bridge, which forms a major component of the project. He explained that the bridge, which his administration inherited, would significantly improve connectivity among communities in the area once completed.
Governor Fubara stated that the bridge will serve as a key link between communities in Abua/Odual, Ahoada-East, and Emohua Local Government Areas, reducing travel time and providing an alternative route to the East–West Road.
He emphasised that the project demonstrates his administration’s commitment to rural connectivity and inter-community access, which are central to his development vision for Rivers State.
“Where we are standing on is a bridge connecting Abua/Odual, Ahoada-East, and Emohua Local Government Areas. The community that is connected to this bridge is Agba-Ndele.
“Instead of running through the East–West Road to Ahoada-East and heading into Port Harcourt or out of it, this bridge provides easy access for the Abua/Odual people to cross into Emohua, Agba-Ndele, and access the East–West Road in minutes,” he explained.
Governor Fubara also expressed optimism that the bridge would be ready for use in early 2026, noting that Setraco’s expertise and performance met his administration’s expectations for quality and delivery timelines.
He highlighted that projects of such importance should be handled by firms with the capacity to meet government standards.
The Governor further remarked that once completed, the bridge would serve as a crucial economic corridor for farmers and traders, especially those involved in agriculture and cultivation of local produce across the beneficiary local government areas.
He maintained that his administration is determined to deliver people-oriented projects that promote connectivity, strengthen commerce, and enhance livelihoods across the State.
“I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen on the bridge. I’m very sure that before the end of January, it might be completely ready for us to walk through and even drive across,” Governor Fubara said.
Reaffirming his vision for Rivers people, the Governor noted that his development plan seeks to integrate all parts of the State through strategic infrastructure investments that promote mobility, social cohesion, and economic growth.
He explained that his government is executing projects across multiple local government areas to ensure balanced development and inclusivity.
Governor Fubara stated that the administration will soon address the deplorable state of the Abua/Ahoada Road, which he said, will be included in the 2026 state budget.
“Our vision is to connect the entire Rivers State together, especially communities that have challenges of access. The bridge here connects Abua/Odual and Ahoada-East to Emohua and Port Harcourt. It will ease movement, promote trade, and boost our economy because agriculture is strong on this side. Moving goods to the city won’t be a problem anymore,” he said.
Governor Fubara reiterated his administration’s commitment to delivering quality infrastructure that provides value for public funds and meets the aspirations of Rivers people.
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