The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has condemned what he described as the “mass murder” of worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
While commiserating with the families whose loved ones were murdered or wounded in the course of devotion and service to God, the cleric described the attack as an act of “unspeakable cruelty”.
Bakare, who is a presidential aspirant on the platform of ruling All Progressives Congress, said these in a statement on Sunday titled, ‘The Owo Massacre is an Assault on the Nigerian State – ‘Tunde Bakare’.
The cleric urged the security agencies to immediately investigate the killing and ensure the perpetrators pay for their crime.
The statement read, “This horrific tragedy is an assault on the Nigerian State, a desecration of the Nigerian constitution, and an affront on our collective freedoms as citizens, including the freedom to assemble and the freedom to worship God.
“I call on the security agencies to waste no time in fishing out every perpetrator and accomplice in the conception, planning, financing, and execution of this evil and to ensure that they are brought to justice speedily in line with the relevant laws preventing and prohibiting terrorism in Nigeria.
“I state unequivocally that this barbaric act calls for an immediate revisiting of our national security architecture to allow for early detection and prevention of threats, and to enable the Nigerian State to fulfill its obligation to guarantee the security and welfare of Nigerian citizens everywhere in Nigeria.
“I urge all citizens to resist the temptation to succumb to the same base instincts that led to this carnage, no matter the provocation. Let the rule of law prevail over vengeance, and let peace triumph over further destruction. I trust that we will ultimately emerge undaunted in the pursuit of a nation worth living for.
“May God comfort the families and people of Owo, the Catholic Church, the Government of Ondo State, and every Nigerian whose heart is laden with sorrow.”
