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At least 21 people were killed when gunmen opened fire on churchgoers and detonated explosives at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday.
The attackers targeted the St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state as worshippers gathered on Pentecost
State lawmakers had said up to 50 people died in the attack. On Monday, an initial assessment from local authorities put the death toll at 21.
“Dynamite exploded in the church (…) the attackers didn’t even enter the church, they shot through the windows,” Ondo State Governor Richard Olatunde’s spokesman told AFP.
Videos appearing to be from the scene of the attack showed church worshippers lying in pools of blood while people around them wailed.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said “only fiends from the nether region could have conceived and carried out such dastardly act”, according to a statement from his spokesman.
“No matter what, this country shall never give in to evil and wicked people, and darkness will never overcome light. Nigeria will eventually win,” said Buhari, who was elected after vowing to end Nigeria’s prolonged security crisis.
In Rome, Pope Francis responded to news of the attack – condemning the barbarous acts.
A statement issued by the Vatican press office said: “The pope has learned of the attack on the church in Ondo, Nigeria and the deaths of worshippers, many children, during the celebration of Pentecost. While the details are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and the country, painfully affected at a time of celebration, and entrusts them both to the Lord so that he may send his spirit to console them.”
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on the church. While much of Nigeria has struggled with security issues, Ondo is widely known as one of Nigeria’s most peaceful states. The state, though, has been caught up in a rising violent conflict between farmers and herders.
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