Nigerian Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola said on Thursday the fatal attack on a Catholic church in Ondo state was carried out by a terrorist group ,the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP).
“The Council is quite concerned about the violent attack in Owo, Ondo State. We have been able to trace the traces of the perpetrators of that attack and by indications, we are targeting the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP),” Aregbesola said.
He said this during a press briefing after a National Security Council meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Aregbesola said ISWAP’s goal is to pit Nigerians against each other by making the attack look like an ethno-religious war
Dozens of people were reported dead and were killed when gunmen attacked worshipers Sunday at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo state. In this 40 people are believed to have been killed in the attack and the legislator representing the area said 70 people were killed.
“It is not an ethnoreligious thing. ISWAP members seeking attention and recognition are suspected of carrying out that attack and we have ordered all agencies involved to hunt them down and bring them to justice,” he said.
He also said that the security council is concerned about the killing of innocent people due to ‘blasphemy’. At least two people have been killed by different mobs (in Sokoto and Abuja) for alleged blasphemy.
“We are equally concerned about the spate of attacks in the name of blasphemy. The police have been ordered to mobilize, identify and arrest all those involved in the recent blasphemy attacks in Sokoto and Abuja,
“The current administration will not relent in its efforts to provide adequate security to citizens throughout the country,
“The guarantee is that we are committed to maintaining law and order and providing adequate security for Nigerian citizens,” he said.
The attack is a continuation of similar attacks in the West African nation. Several under age girls have been raped and taken as hostages by extremist groups in the past especially in West Nigeria.
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