Yoruba Obas Condemn Owo Massacre, Task FG on Security

Bennett Oghifo

Yoruba Obas’ Forum has condemned the terror attack last Sunday at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State which left many worshippers dead and several others injured.

The monarchs, under the forum are drawn from the South-west – Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun – and Yoruba speaking areas of  Kwara and Kogi states.

In a press statement yesterday signed by Oba Samuel Adeoye, Edema 1,The Molokun of Atijere Kingdom of Ondo State, the traditional rulers, while condoling the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin, Ogunoye III and his people, as well as the government and people of the state, described the incident as unfortunate and worrisome.

The royal fathers, who bemoaned the gruesome killings of the innocent worshippers, commiserated with the church and families of the victims.

“This is one killing too many. The sanctity of human life has become meaningless with the sordid ways people are cheaply being slaughtered like fowls in our country on a daily basis. It’s increasingly becoming scary by the day,” said the royal fathers.

The traditional rulers called on the federal government and other stakeholders to make the security of lives of the people a top priority, lamenting the incessancy of such ugly developments.

The Obas said it was high time a lasting solution was found to inhumane and inglorious acts across the country.

They contended that the government should not only fish out the perpetrators of the evil deed but also  ensure that they were brought to justice.

This, the forum maintained, would reassure citizens that there was hope for the recovery of Nigeria from its current calamitous situation, warning that the development if left unattended to, would continue to send wrong signals to the outside world, especially investors.

“It is the position of Yoruba Obas Forum that the government and security agencies should double their efforts in protecting lives and property of Nigerians in every part of the nation otherwise it would continue to give the country negative image among comity of nations,” said the traditional rulers.

They said it was long overdue for the nation’s security architecture to be reengineered to conform to current challenges, noting, “with the security intelligence at the beck and call of our government, we are cocksure the state security apparatus can tackle the situation headlong if it’s serious about it.”

The monarchs implored the people to be security conscious as a way of nipping in the bud unforeseen circumstances that could lead to destruction of lives and property.