Ohanaeze Calls For Restructuring After Owo Church ‘Massacre”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Monday, condemned the massacre of Christian worshippers at Owo, Ondo State.

THE WHISTLER reported that scores of worshippers were massacred during Mass at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Sunday morning.

Ohanaeze, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, which was made available to our correspondent in Enugu, tasked security agencies to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to book.

Dr Ogbonnia stated that, “The massacre of innocent worshippers at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, by terrorists has once again exposed the level of insecurity in the country and the inability of the federal government to rein in these agents of darkness on Nigeria.

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, led by Ambassador George Obiozor, condemns, in the strongest terms, this unbridled massacre of innocent worshippers in Ondo State and demands that the security agencies smoke out these cowardly murderers wherever they may be and bring them to justice.

“The massacre of these worshippers, whose only crime was gathering together to worship God, is barbaric, savage, cowardly, unconscionable and indeed the worst sacrilegious dastardly affront on the body of Christ.

“Ohanaeze is worried at the lowest ebb and utter disregard for the sanctity of human lives that has insidiously become the Nigerian character.

“More worrisome is the porosity of Nigerian borders that have become a freeway for all categories of persons into the country.”

Ohanaeze recalled that the Owo massacre is coming only one week after the abduction, by suspected Fulani herdsmen, of the prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Grace Dr Samuel Uche, and two other clergymen in Abia State, South-East Nigeria.

It reiterated its ‘persistent calls for the restructuring of the security architecture as a practical strategy for checking insecurity in the country’.

The statement added, “It is regrettable that today Nigerians can no longer walk or travel freely on accounts of the level of insecurity in the land.

“We hereby urge the governors of Southern Nigeria to come together and strengthen their local vigilante groups, especially the Amotekun and Ebubeagu to ensure safety of our people.

“It is the Ohanaeze position that a vast federation, such as Nigeria, requires a multi-level security network to complement the central security apparatus.

“Security becomes a collective responsibility only if there is a collective security consciousness. The philosophy behind Ebubeagu is that every community has volunteers and representation in the local security outfit.

“The local terrain is better understood and navigated by the indigenous security operators; hence the need to domesticate security for effective services.”

It said the ongoing attacks, banditry, kidnap, unknown gunmen, herdsmen-farmers clashes should sound a wake-up call on ‘our governors to rise to the occasion’, adding that, “The failure of any government begins with the inability to secure its citizens and property.”

While commiserating with Owo community, the leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; the entire people of Ondo State over the massacre, Ohanaeze condoled with the families of the deceased, and the entire Catholic Church worldwide.