On Easter Sunday, the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, reopened for services ten months after a devastating attack killed over 40 worshippers and injured several others.
The attackers disguised themselves as worshippers throughout the attack, maiming both old and young worshippers.
However, ten months after the catastrophe, believers packed the building to celebrate Easter 2023.
At the reopening, the Most Revered Jude Arogundade, Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, urged the Federal Government to recognize its obligation to protect citizens’ lives and property.
“The government of this country has failed us in their duty for the protection of lives and properties,” he said, lamenting how quickly the country moves on following attacks.
“The government must wake up and show strength and courage and make sure those who carried out the evil that took place in this church and those carrying out the evils that are going on in this country are brought to book and are punished accordingly,” the cleric added.
Most congregants, particularly those who witnessed the incident, had conflicting feelings about returning to the same church. They recalled the attack and urged the administration to address the country’s insecurity.
This came as they thanked God for preserving their lives and prayed for the souls of those killed in the attack.
The Nigerian military detained some detainees suspected of masterminding the attack, which it attributed to the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), some weeks after it occurred.
Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, speaking following a National Security Council meeting in June, stated that the attack has no ethnic-religious connection, confirming that the group’s activity has nothing to do with religion.
On June 17, the victims of the attack were given a mass burial, with the Ondo State government issuing a list of people affected by the incident.
