The delegations of Catholic bishops from the ecclesiastical provinces of Ibadan and Lagos, in Nigeria, visited the survivors for expressing the solidarity with the victims of the massacre that left 50 people dead on Pentecost Sunday massacre on 5 June in the parish of Saint Francis Xavier in Owo, in the Diocese of Ondo, in Nigeria.
A report on Thursday, June 9 indicates that the 8 Bishops of Lagos and Ibadan first visited the Nigerian Catholic parish to “further condemn this evil act and the desecration of life in every way”.
“Then they visited the residence of the bishop [Msgr. Jude Arogundade], proceeded to the site of the massacre, from there to the palace of the King of Owo), then to the Governor’s house and finally to the hospitals where the survivors are currently being treated,” the report states.
During the visit, the Archbishop of Ibadan, Msgr. Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin, condemned the massacre and assured that “God will undertake the fight against the criminals.”
He also urged the government to “must all efforts to ensure that anyone involved in this horrific murder of unarmed innocents is brought to justice in a timely manner.”
He also took the opportunity to praise the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, for his “bold measures and his promise to ensure that the perpetrators are stopped.”
In order to have a dignified burial for the dead, Bishop Arogundade asked for a piece of land from the State, located in a strategic place in Owo, where a park can be built and beautified in a way “that dignifies humanity even in death”.
In his speech, he said that “we have to let these evildoers know that we cannot be defeated and that when we come out, we will come out strong.”
“Getting a burial place would be a statement that would shame the perpetrators of this chaos,” he said.