Nigerian govt blames ISWAP for church attack that killed 40 people in Owo

The Nigerian government has stated that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) was responsible for the attack on a Catholic Church in Owo town, Ondo State in which 40 people have been confirmed dead and many more injured last Sunday.

The National Security Council states on Wednesday that ISWAP was behind the attack on worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House Correspondents after the National Security Council meeting in Abuja.

He said that security agencies have been instructed to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are swiftly apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law.

The former governor added that the attack was unconnected to ethnic-religious circumstances.

The minister also touched on the recent killings such as in Sokoto and Abuja in the name of blasphemy, affirming that perpetrators of the incidents would be dealt with.

Read also :Owo massacre symptomatic of failure of Nigeria’s security architecture — Ooni

In a recent meeting between Governor Akeredolu of Ondo state and Catholic Bishops from the South-West, it was confirmed that more than 40 people died in the attack and 26 survivors discharged from hospitals.

The governor said: “The figure I have now shows that 127 persons were involved and that the number of death now is 40. On admission receiving treatment, we have 61. Twenty-six have been discharged.

“Those are the figures we have now from the Commissioner for Health. So, the government is not hiding anything.”

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