Owo Massacre: Govt to honour victims

As part of efforts to immortalized the victims of last year’s church attack in Owo, Ondo state, the state government has begun the construction of a memorial park in honour of the victims of the attack.

Terrorists had on 5 June 2022 attacked the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, killing more than 40 people, while many sustained varying degrees of injuries in the attack.

Addressing reporters during an inspection visit to the construction site on Saturday, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said his administration is determined not to forget the souls that were lost in the attack

The governor noted that the memorial park located in the heart of the town would be a beauty to behold when completed.

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He hinted that the  President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who had visited Owo to commiserate with the state and the people after the incident, would be invited to inaugurate the project when completed.

Akeredolu said, “The architect who designed this place, Architect Femi Bello, the Odopetu of Akure Kingdom, I want to thank him very well, because he showed interest in this project. His interest is beyond the normal.

“By the time we finish this memorial park, it will be a beauty to behold and it is going to measure up to any memorial park anywhere because the architect has taken his time to do so many good works here. It is for us to just wait and see it.

“Come rain, come sunshine, this project must be completed before the end of May. When this incident (attack) happened, our President-elect was here. I know that by the time we tell him we have this memorial park for him to come and inaugurate it, I think it will be a joy to him. That will be just a week after his inauguration, I pray he will come so that he can see this memorial park.”

“For us, we are determined not to forget the souls that have departed. They were 41 in number. And others that are still nursing the wounds, although they have gone back to their homes, have been discharged, and some of them are outpatients.

“As you know, we also have a lady whose two legs were amputated. The government has provided the necessary prosthesis that she can use. I’m told that she has been able to use it. Her rehabilitation is moving on well and we are sure that she will still live a normal life. That is what I believe, she will live a normal life.

“So, for us, it is just a way of remembering those 41 souls that died.”

On his part, the state Commissioner for Infrastructure, Land and Housing, Raimi Aminu, commended the governor for not forgetting the departed souls, expressing assurance that the befitting memorial park would be completed before the end of May.