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The casualty report for last week’s attack on a Catholic church in Nigeria has been revised down to 22 killed and 50 injured, according to a Nigerian official.
Previous reports based on witness accounts placed the death toll at more than 50 after gunmen fired weapons and detonated explosives inside St. Francis Church. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
State Police Commissioner Oyeyemi Oyediran said law enforcement pursued to attackers, “but unfortunately, we could not catch up with them.”
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A view of the St. Francis Catholic church in Owo, Nigeria, Monday, June 6, 2022 a day after an attack targeted worshipers.
(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Ondo state governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu called the attack “vile and satanic” in a Sunday statement.
Pope Francis also condemned the attack on Monday calling it an “act of unspeakable violence.”
“His Holiness prays for the conversion of those blinded by hatred and violence so that they will choose instead the path of peace and righteousness,” a telegram from the Vatican read.
The attack came roughly two months after a stampede at a Nigerian church fair killed 31 people in late March.
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The church fair was intended to be a charity event in which locals could “shop for free.” Many attendees arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their spots in line. Attendees then broke through the gate, causing a stampede.
