Attack on church in southwest Nigeria leaves at least 50 dead

Nigerian medical sources and media reported that an armed group attack on a Catholic church in the southwest of the country has left at least 50 people dead, including women and children.

The attackers stormed the church during Mass on Sunday, firing on worshippers inside and outside the church, a police spokesman for the Ondo State Police Command in Nigeria said.

The Nigerian police official did not say how many people were killed or injured at the St. Francis Catholic Church in the town of Owo, adding only that police were investigating the cause of the attack.

Ondo State Governor Arakkonen Akredulu, who visited the scene of the attack and the injured in hospital, called Sunday's attack a "massacre" that must not be allowed to happen again.

The identities and motives of the attackers are not yet known. Northeast Nigeria is the scene of frequent attacks by Islamist insurgents and armed criminal groups, who often kidnap people for ransom. But such attacks are rare in southwest Nigeria.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack, calling it "tragic." The Vatican said Pope Francis was praying for the victims.

Reports indicate that the bishop and priests of St. Francis Church survived the attack, but medical sources said at least 50 bodies had been transferred to two hospitals in the area.

Hospitals in the area have also asked people to donate blood to help those injured in the accident.

Source: Radio Farda