56 On Admission, 2 Discharged, 22 Dead – Akeredolu Confirms Figures From Ondo Church Massacre

The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has put the total number of those affected by the Sunday attack on worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo at eighty.

Giving a further breakdown of the figures, Akeredolu disclosed that 56 of the victims are on admission, two have been discharged, while the death toll is 22.

Naija News reports the Governor gave the update on Tuesday during a statewide broadcast in Akure, the state capital.

“As you will all recall, I was out of the state on party assignment in respect of the ongoing national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.

“I had to cut short my stay in Abuja to have a personal first-hand assessment of the situation.

“On arrival, I received preliminary briefings from the heads of the various security agencies which formed the basis of movement to the scene of the devilish act in Owo.

“The site, that is, St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo, presents a gory war-like scene. The Federal Medical Centre, Owo, the St. Louis Hospital, Owo, the General Hospital, Owo, as well as some private hospitals in Owo, were filled with the injured, most of whom were in critical condition.

“The most unfortunate part is the lives of innocent children cut down in their prime and some severely injured by the mindless attackers. The total number of people involved was 80. As at now, 56 are on admission, two discharged, while the death toll is 22.”

Akeredolu who described the attackers as mindless said the aim of the attack is to test the will of the people of Owo and Ondo State by extension.

He however submitted that Owo and the entire Yoruba land will not be conquered by the perpetrators of evil.

The attack is an “attempt to test the will of the people of the state and indeed, the south-west”.

“At Owo, the anger was palpable. The tension was at an abrasive level just as the urge for reprisals was high,” he said.

“Without doubt too, the ripple impact of this heinous act as well as the understandably angry reaction across the state could not have been different.

“To me, this is an attempt to test the will of the people of the state and indeed, the south-west.

“It, unequivocally, has the brazenly possible consequence of invitation to national anarchy because Yorubaland, and Owo in particular, have never been conquered before; and it will never happen,” the Governor stated.