… Death sentence brings justice, not dead worshippers – Ondo Catholic Bishop
The Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Most Rev. Jude Arogundade, has described the June 5, 2022, attack on worshippers of St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, as a life-changing event not only for the Catholic community but for the entire state.
According to the bishop, the horrific attack which occurred four years ago targeted worshippers at their most vulnerable moment praying in what he stated should have been the safest of places.
Tomorrow marks four years since terrorists stormed St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, killing 40 worshippers and injuring more than 100 others in what remains one of the deadliest attacks on a place of worship in Nigeria’s recent history.
No fewer than 40 persons were gruesomely murdered and many injured on June 5, 2022, when daredevil gunmen rained bullets on the worshippers during service in the community.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday sentenced to death four out of the five terrorists after they were found guilty of the entire nine-count charges against them.
Aroundade emphasised that the assault during Sunday Mass altered the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, leaving a trail of orphans, widows, and permanently scarred survivors that the church continues to care for.
While stressing that some level of justice has been served through the legal system, the bishop expressed sorrow that no judicial outcome can restore the 41 brutally murdered lives.
He stated that ‘It will be four years on June 5; that’s tomorrow.’ ‘The attack has been a life changer for us in the Catholic diocese of Ondo and, indeed, in the whole of Ondo State. Because that is one of the worst incidents that we have ever had in Ondo State, where people in the church were praying on Sunday, where everybody thinks that should be the safest place.
“Some terrorists went in there to kill almost everybody. In fact, they were bent on killing as many as possible. And at the end of the day, we have 41 people killed and many, many others, more than 100 others, injured.
“And the scar has been with us since then. To this very day, we are still either caring for the children of the deceased or still nursing the wounds of the wounded. And also, those who lost dear ones.
“In fact, one of the seminarians here with me lost both parents. The father and the mother were killed in that incident. So my reaction is, what good, what good purpose does this even serve? Well, we know justice; people will say at least justice was done, some level of justice was done.
“But at the same time, it doesn’t bring back the lives of 41 people that were brutally murdered on that day. So my reaction is, well, we have a law in this country. The law may have taken its course, but we are left to continue to nurse the wounds of those who are scarred by that attack.
“May God have mercy on all of us. God is the greatest judge. We, as human beings, may do little we can, but God is the ultimate judge.
You see, I still believe that it was sponsored. It is not just out of the blue that people just came in there. People planned it and executed a plan.
“So how did they come to that idea? We are not political. We don’t get involved in controversies. In fact, we are one of the churches that go out of our way to care for everybody.
“We have hospitals that take care of everybody. Sometimes we give free medical assistance to those who cannot help themselves. We have social institutions that care for the orphans and widows.
“In fact, we have a programme going on now, empowerment of the youth. So why would you attack such an organisation that is out to help everybody? So this is the bottom line. So it’s such a sad situation.
“Well, I don’t know what to say, but as I said, we are a church. We are supposed to follow the teachings of Christ. We have moved on. We have, according to our own gospel teaching, allowed everything to be. Forgiveness is from God. We have paid for forgiveness for our own sins, for our own inadequacies, and for the sins of others.
“But after that, the law of the land, we still take its course. And that, we don’t have anything to say apart from we are a country, and the country is guided by its constitutions and laws, and it has to be upheld.”
