Owo Church Attack, Grievous Violation of Yorubaland, Yoruba Think Tank

Last Sunday’s attack on worshippers at the St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, was a grievous and barbaric violation of Yorubaland and it will not go unchallenged, the Yoruba Leadership and  Peace Initiative (TYLPI) has said.

Reacting to the attack by people described as gunmen, TYLPI said the incident underscored the growing inability of the government to secure the country.

In a statement signed by it’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Tunde Ipinmisho, the group said that entire country was gradually becoming a gory scene of bloodletting, and expressed regret that the only official reaction to every such incident was usually a tepid statement by the Federal Government, which has absolute control of the security agencies, that it was on top of the situation.

Government, it counselled, must take decisive steps to restore law and order in the country, especially now that preparations were on for a general election and a national headcount.

TYLPI warned that the security situation must become government’s topmost concern, as, according to the group, the very nature of some of the recent incidents throw a big challenge to the nation’s unity and continued existence.

Beyond the usual routine approach to investigation and the apprehension of crime suspects, it advised that the security agencies must put all their resources into tracking and apprehending those behind the dastardly attack of the Owo church.

The group said some of the security challenges facing the country were the very reasons government needed to listen to and address the calls for the restructuring of the country to give more powers to the sub nationalities.

Nigeria, it said, had become too complex and unwieldy for all the levers of power to be effectively pulled from Abuja in the running of the country.

TYLPI expressed its sympathy with Ondo State Governor,  Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu and the people of the state over the incident and prayed that normalcy would soon return to Owo.

It urged Akeredolu not to be deterred by the incident but to remain focused and be a strong voice in the campaign to restore the country to the federation it was meant to be.

TYLPI also expressed its condolence to those who lost their loved ones in the incident and prayed for quick recovery for those who were wounded.