By Julius Alabi, Akure
A year after the Owo Church attack, a chieftain of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and candidate for the seat of the State House of Assembly in Owo Constituency 1 in the recently conducted general elections in Ondo State, Hon. Chief Emmanuel Adekunle Taiwo, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do everything possible to fish out Owo massacre perpetrators and bring them to book forestall future occurrence.
Taiwo lamented that to date, the perpetrators have not been brought to book.
He said the incident at Owo where scores of innocent citizens were killed had been the most dehumanizing and disturbing. He said with this singular reason, there must be a vast security improvement within every state of Nigeria.
Taiwo, while extending condolences to the family of last year’s victims of the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State said the issue of security should be taken seriously by Mr. President in this new dispensation.
“We as a people of Owo refuse to be cowed. We stand together to condemn evil and remain united to grow a better society where our people can pursue their dreams and achieve the best of their possibilities.
“Today, June 5th, 2023, marks the first anniversary of the horrific massacre of more than 50 of our people worshipping at the St Francis Catholic Church. The dastardly murder of innocent citizens is a sad, dark blot on our psyche as a community that is difficult to forget.
“The pain of the awful day, the stain of the blood spilt, the suffering of the injured and the dislocation in the lives of the loved ones left behind remain with us, as people of Owo Constituency.
“Today the memory of the sad day comes back in a flurry, we refuse to be intimidated, and instead we stand united and remind ourselves that the eternal prize of security is vigilance.
“We pray the souls of the departed rest in the bosom of the Lord. We salute the courage of the survivors and condole again the loved ones left behind.”