Days after Owo Church massacre, another six murdered in Ondo street

Ondo State, still in mourning, following the dastard murder of no fewer than 40 worshippers inside the St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, last Sunday, has been hit with another round of killing.

This time six persons were reportedly shot dead by suspected bandits in Ondo Town, early morning Wednesday.

RELIABLESOURCENG.COM reports that suspected terrorists stormed the St Francis Catholic Church and massacred the parishioners as they meant to leave the auditorium, just as the Morning Mass ended.

A source told the media that the bandits who operated on motorcycles around Sabo area in Ondo Town, shot the victims at close range.

However, a media report quoting the Sarikin Hausawa of Ondo, Alhaji Abdulsalam Yusuf, said the attack might be a reprisal to the massacre at the St Francis Church, as the six persons killed were all of the northern extraction.

READ: Terrorists storm Catholic Church in Ondo, slaughter congregation

According to Yusuf who said the killers came around 12.30am on Wednesday, the dead were buried later on Wednesday while a survivor of the attack was still receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the state.

He gave a brief account of what happened: “They (the killers) came to our area (Sabo) on motorbikes and each was carrying three gunmen. All of a sudden, they started shooting people who were mostly suya and tea vendors.

“A J5 bus driver who was on transit and stopped to eat was the first victim. They killed a guard man and another shopkeeper who was trying to lock up his shop and run away from the assailants.

“They again gunned down two young men who were eating noodles at a mai shayi stall. That makes five victims in Sabo alone.

“Again, they struck another area called Iba, where they also shot dead another man.”

The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Funmi Odunlami, confirmed the killings, promising to give details later in a statement.