The Nigerian Police Force has discovered some unexploded fragments of the IEDs at the scene of the Owo massacre at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owaluwa in Owo, Ondo State.
In a statement on Monday by the Force public relations officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba assured that the heartless killers of the harmless victims, particularly innocent children, would be made to face the full wrath of the law, while the Force will emplace strategies to forestall similar future occurrences.
The statement revealed that the attack was carried out by yet-to-be-identified gunmen who were disguised as congregants while other armed men were stationed outside the church on Sunday, June 5 2022.
“The gunmen, from preliminary investigations, invaded the church with arms and materials suspected to be explosives. Police Investigators who were part of the First Responders deployed to the scene have recovered pellets of expended AK-47 ammunition while the Explosive Ordnance Devices – Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Explosives (EOD-CBRNE) unit confirmed the use of Explosives as fragments of the IEDs used were found and after thorough sweeping of the scene, 3 unexploded IEDs were recovered at the scene of the incident.
Further investigations revealed that some of the gunmen disguised as congregants, while other armed men who had positioned themselves around the church premises from different directions, fired into the church. The assailants fled the scene using a Nissan Sunny car with Reg No. AKR 8to was snatched from the owner and escaped through Owo/Ute road. The vehicle has been recovered while the owner of the vehicle is currently assisting the Police in its investigations.
The IGP has ordered full-scale investigations into the incident to bring to book the perpetrators of the gruesome killing of the worshippers at the church. The IGP has further ordered the deployment of specialized operatives of the Police EOD-CBRNE, police experts, and other tactical units from the Force Headquarters for a comprehensive investigation, and immediate interception of the Villians.”
