Rev Father Andrew Abayomi, one of the priests at St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, Owo, Ondo has narrated how attackers he called terrorists struck the church when the Sunday service was about to end.
“I had even asked people to start leaving, that was how we started hearing gunshots from different angles,” he told the BBC Yoruba service.
“We hid inside the church but some people had left when the attack happened. We locked ourselves in the church for 20 minutes. When we heard that they had left, we opened the church and rushed victims to the hospital.”
The National Daily reported earlier no fewer than 50 people died in the attack, including those passing by, according to eyewitnesses.
Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has reacted to the incident, which happened in his hometown.
He had to leave the APC meeting in Abuja for Owo to address the situation.
“We shall commit every available resource to hunt down these assailants and make them pay,” he said.
“We shall never bow to the machinations of heartless elements in our resolves to rid our state of criminals.”