At least 50 people were killed and others injured by gunmen who attacked a Catholic church in the Nigerian state of Odo during Sunday service, a doctor and local media reported.
A doctor at a hospital in Ou, a city in the southwestern state of Nigeria, told Reuters that at least 50 bodies had been taken to Ou Federal Medical Center and St. Louis Catholic Hospital.
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack, which he described as “disgusting”. The identity and motives of the perpetrators are not yet clear.
Local media reported that gunmen opened fire on worshipers and detonated explosives in the church. Among the dead are women and children.
Fanilagio Ibukun Odunlami, a spokesman for Odo State police, said only that there was an incident at St. Francis Catholic Church in Ouo, adding that police would issue a new statement soon.
In Africa’s most populous country there are attacks and kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs, mainly in its northwestern regions. Such attacks are rare in southwestern Nigeria.
The governor of Odo, Arakunrin Oluvarotimi Akerentolu, shortened his visit to the capital Abuja and returned to Odo after the attack. “We will prosecute the perpetrators with all the means at our disposal and make them pay,” he said.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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