Christiana Oyewole fought back tears when she began her account of the shooting incident at Saint Francis Catholic Church, Owo, on June 5.
The 52-year-old mother of three, a parishioner at the church, said she narrowly escaped death.
But her son, David, wasn’t as lucky.
He is among the 40 people killed when gunmen stormed the church that Sunday morning, opened fire on the congregation, and also detonated explosives as the worshippers scampered for safety.
Police said the gunmen got to the church at about 11.30 a.m.
Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, the lawmaker representing Owo Constituency I, who visited the scene shortly after the attack, said at least 70 people were killed and injured.
But the state government put the casualty figures at 127, including 40 dead.
Saved by the toilet
Mrs Oyewole said she had gone to ease herself in the church’s toilet when she heard the gunshots.
“I quickly jumped out of the toilet and climbed a broken block that helped me jump into the palace,” she said.
“I couldn’t run far knowing my son was inside the church. I laid down inside the palace compound, peeping through a hole in the fence.”
The church and the Olowo of Owo’s Palace share a fence.
Mrs Oyewole, a widow, said she had dragged her son to church that Sunday because he doesn’t enjoy going to church.
She blamed herself for her son’s death.
“My two other children would have followed us to church for Sunday worship that same day, but they insisted on following my sister to Akure on Friday, and that was where they spent their weekend.”
Mrs Oyewole said the shooters were “five young boys.”
“While three of them were shooting angrily, one was throwing explosives into the church,” she added.
Another church member, who identified herself as Chinelo, said the boys were “calculative and fearless.”
“While the four of them advanced toward the church auditorium, the one throwing explosives earlier went back to the gate.”
The church’s catechist, Jonathan Awolo, had told PREMIUM TIMES that after that attack, hoodlums flooded the church to steal phones and other valuables from the dead bodies that littered the church.
The getaway
Sunday’s attack on worshippers, the first of such incidents in Nigeria’s south-west, shocked the entire country. Governor Rotimi Akeredolu directed that flags be flown at half-mast across the state.
On Thursday, social media was awash with claims that the attackers had been arrested. But police denied the reports.
Olabode Samuel, a butcher whose shop is situated beside the church, said the assailants fled with a vehicle that was heading toward the church.
Mr Samuel, who said he hid inside his shop, told PREMIUM TIMES that the gunmen stopped the vehicle and ordered the driver to hand over the car key.
He said they left with the car, which he described as a “rickety Golf 3” and drove through the popular Oja Oba market.
“I hide inside my kiosk as they were shooting sporadically. They stopped a car coming and shouted give me your car. It was an old Golf 3 car. They went through the market road,” Mr Samuel said.
Mr Samuel said the gunmen were shooting “sporadically” from the gate.
“It was over 30 minutes before they left with that car.”
Source: PREMIUM TIMES
