There has been a discrepancy in the figures given to media by authorities, with a local lawmaker Adeyemi Olayemi telling CNN that nearly 50 people died in the shooting after the attackers came in on motorcycles.
Ajanaku told CNN that she counted 39 pictures in a tribute booklet created for the victims at the funeral mass.
A list of injured also showed 74 people being treated in hospital for “varying degrees of injuries,” according to the booklet.
“There are 31 with pictures and 8 empty slots for some of the victims,” she told CNN from the service.
“Some Igbo people carried their dead back to the southeast of the country. I’m still not sure how many died,” she said.
Ajanaku added that the priest paid tribute to the victims including a two year-old and a 65-year-old.
Laide described the mood as “somber,” in the packed hall adding that some distraught relatives were rolling on the ground and some are crying in the hall.”
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and a former governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko, were among the dignitaries present at the mass.
After the shooting, Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims who were “painfully attacked at a time of celebration,” a statement from the Vatican said.
