Gunmen on Sunday morning attacked St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, the headquarters of the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, murdering many worshippers.

Unconfirmed number of bodies had been removed from the church, with many who sustained injuries rushed to the Federal Medical Center, FMC, in Owo.

Owo is the hometown of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen stormed the church during while service was going on and opened fire on the congregation.

One of the eyewitness who craved anonymity stated that the worshippers were caught off guard when the attackers arrived.

He added that the number of casualties could be higher because some attendees who were taken to the hospital gave up the ghost.

On condition of anonymity, a nurse in Owo disclosed that there are insufficient medical professionals on duty to attend to the injured victims in the hospital’s emergency unit, while some of the casualties have been transferred to private hospitals.