St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, in Ondo state will be reopened for worshippers on Easter Sunday, ten months after worshippers were massacred by gunmen.
No fewer than 69 others were injured in the June 5, 2022 attack. The suspected killers have since been arrested by the military.
Speaking at this year’s Chrism mass as part of activities to mark the Easter celebration, the Bishop of the Ondo Diocese, Rev Bishop Jude Arogundade, said that the church would reopen for worshippers this Easter Sunday.
Bishop Arogundade said the church has been locked since the attack on worshippers.
According to him “Since the unfortunate incident that befell our members at the Saint Francis Cathedral in Owo on June 5 2022, the church has been closed down for security reasons and as a mark of respect for our fallen brothers and sisters.
“The church shall be opened again for Easter Sunday. The government of Ondo state is as well planning to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the massacre in honour of our fallen heroes.”
Recall that the state government has commenced the construction of a Memorial Park in honour of the slain victims.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, during an inspection of the park, said that his administration would not forget the victims
Akeredolu hinted that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who visited Owo to commiserate with the State and the people after the incident, will be invited to commission the project when completed.
He said that ”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 much good work here. It is for us to just wait and see it.”