Ime Akpan
The governor of Ondo State, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has described as “hasty” a statement by the federal government that the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) carried out the massacre of 40 worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, last Sunday, June 4, 2022.
Recall that the minister of interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, had after the national security council meeting in Abuja last Thursday fingered ISWAP in the terror attack.
He said security agencies, particularly the police, had been directed to apprehend the perpetrators, adding that the attack has no ethnic-religious connection.
However, speaking yesterday in a zoom meeting with Swiss-based Christian Solidarity International (CSI), Akeredolu said he took the council’s conclusion with a pinch of salt.
“The statement is too hasty. I take their conclusion with a pinch of salt. ISWAP doesn’t hide their attacks. If they had done it, they would have owned up. We are yet to know their identity and our security people are still on their trail,” he said.
The governor said the attack was a crime against humanity, stressing that the southwest region had been a peace haven before the horrific attack.
He added that despite the attack on the psyche of the people, the people of the state remained indomitable and ready to fight insecurity.
“My government is determined to help the victims of the attack, particularly those who lost their loved ones and those on admission in the hospital.
“We are helping the victims of the attack, including those who lost their loved ones and those who are in the hospitals. We also have people who have offered the state government some assistance. Some people have donated to the Catholic Church.”
The governor also repeated the call for state police, noting that a central police command is not enough for the country.
“A single police command cannot guarantee safety in this country. We must have state police now. Amotekun suffers a lot of limitations in getting all the equipment needed to fight these criminals,” he lamented.
Akeredolu commended the international community for prompt reactions on the church massacre, describing it as “unprecedented.”
Meanwhile, the state police command has refuted reports that the terrorists had been arrested.
The police cleared the air on the matter following last Thursday’s speculations that the terrorists had been rounded up by a joint team of the Nigerian Army, Amotekun Corps, local hunters and other security agencies.
The report said the suspects were taken to the palace of the traditional ruler of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye and that when people heard about the news, they started besieging the palace to catch a glimpse of the suspects.
Spokesperson for the command, Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami, said in a statement that the claim was false.
“There is nothing like that. We have called the police divisions there and they said there was nothing like that. We called the Olowo of Owo; he said he was not aware of any arrest. So, it is the handiwork of some social media but it is just rumour,” she said.
