The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has strongly denounced the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owa-luwa Street, Owo town, Owo Local Government Area, Ondo State, and the barbaric massacre of numerous parishioners there.
In a statement, the students’ group urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government and the Ondo State Government, led by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, to address the escalating insecurity in Owo town and guarantee that those responsible for the “massacre” are brought to justice.
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In a statement, Comrade Oladimeji Uthman, Executive Director, Campus Intervention, NANS National Secretariat, denounced how gunmen attacked the church on Sunday during its Pentecost Sunday liturgy and shot several people to death.
“It is with great sadness that we report that while the Holy Mass was in progress, unknown gunmen attacked and opened fire on members of the church, killing several and injuring dozens more.” This is heartbreaking. Uthman described the situation as “inhumane, sarcastic, diabolical, and pitiful.”
He expressed concern because Owo Local Government Area is home to one of the state-owned tertiary institutions, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, and asked security forces to guarantee that the attackers do not get away with it.
“Waking up to such heartbreaking news as this is an unanticipated development is terrible and cruel.” The culprits of the Owo atrocity must be held accountable.
“The student body’s leadership condemns this satanic action in its entirety, since this regrettable episode is highly condemnable and constitutes a severe threat to our collective survival as a people.”
“Since a matter of urgency, the chiefs of security agencies should deploy their personnel to the community to monitor and restore normality, as the lives of our students studying in Owo town are very important to us as a leadership.”
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“We urge all Nigerian students in Florida to be law-abiding, alert, and not to take the law into their own hands.”
“NANS also expresses condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones in this tragic incident and provides relief to the injured,” he said.
