Gunmen kill ‘many’ worshippers in Nigeria church attack

• Gunmen with explosives attack a Catholic church in Nigeria’s Ondo state.
• No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
• President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the “heinous killing of worshippers”.

According to the government and police, gunmen with explosives invaded a Catholic church in southwest Nigeria’s Ondo state on Sunday, killing “many” worshippers and wounded others.

The violence at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo town happened during the morning service in a rare attack in the southwest of Nigeria, where jihadists and criminal gangs operate in other parts of the country.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Read more: Nigeria: Gunmen attack Catholic church in Ondo state

The motives and the death toll were not immediately clear, but President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the “heinous killing of worshippers”.

Ondo state governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said in a statement it was a “vile and satanic attack” and appealed to the security forces to track down the assailants.

State police spokeswoman Ibukun Odunlami said the gunmen attacked the church with explosives, leaving an undisclosed number of worshippers dead.

“It’s still premature to say exactly how many people were killed. But many worshippers lost their lives while others were injured in the attack,” she told AFP.

A witness, who gave his name as Abayomi, told AFP at least 20 worshippers had died in the attack.

“I was passing through the area when I heard a loud explosion and gunshots inside the church,” he said.

He said he saw at least five gunmen on the church premises before he ran away for safety.

In Ondo state, gun and bomb attacks are uncommon, but the Nigerian military is fighting a 12-year-old jihadist insurgency in the northeast, kidnapping gangs in the northwest, and separatist agitation in the southeast.

Read more: At least 31 die in stampede at Nigeria church event: police