Resurrection, Ondo Catholic Church reopens after ten months

On 5 June 2022, the world was agog with the news of a mass shooting and bomb attack at The St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State Nigeria. Ten months after and with the resurrection of Jesus, the congregants are back, praising God.

The attack on the place of worship was unprecedented. After the attack, at least 40 people were killed with several other people subjected to trauma and psychological stress. The peace of the town was punctured and fear gripped the land.

It was reported that the assailants disguised themselves as worshippers to perpetrate their nefarious acts.

However, ten months after and with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the worshippers gathered again in an emotion-laden service to thank God for sparing their lives and to pray for God to grant the community the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

It was a strong indication of the Christian maxim that the church is marching on and the gate of hell cannot prevail.

At the reopening, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, the Most Revered Jude Arogundade, called on the Federal Government to be alive and committed to the statutory responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of the citizens.

“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.

For most of the congregants, especially those who witnessed the attack, returning to the same church came with mixed feelings. They recalled how the attack happened and called on the government to tackle insecurity in the country.

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After the attack, the Nigerian military arrested some suspects believed to have masterminded the attack which it linked to the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, who spoke after a National Security Council meeting in June, said the attack has no ethnic-religious connection, affirming that the group’s activity has nothing to do with religion.

The victims of the attack were later given a mass burial on June 17 with the Ondo State government releasing the list of those affected by the incident.