• Super Admin
• 07 Mar, 2026

According to him, while there have been occasional incidents of kidnapping for ransom, the state has not experienced another terrorist operation since the Owo church massacre. Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has said the state has not recorded any terrorist attack since the deadly assault on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in June 2022. Aiyedatiwa stated this on Friday during a media chat while responding to questions about the security situation in the state. According to him, while there have been occasional incidents of kidnapping for ransom, the state has not experienced another terrorist operation since the Owo church massacre. "Terrorist operation has not happened after the Owo massacre. We've not experienced any terrorist attack," the governor said as quoted by Channels TV. "I said that we have isolated cases of kidnapping for ransom; it's happening, but we have to engage. The security agencies have to engage to be able to ensure that those who are kidnapped are released, the victims are released, and then they put a trail on those who are perpetrating that act." When asked about recent killings reportedly carried out by suspected bandits in some communities, including Agamo, the governor dismissed the incidents as isolated criminal acts rather than bandit attacks. "Those cases you mentioned, as I said, are isolated cases," he explained. "These are not bandit attacks as it were, because when a bandit comes in, they destroy, they kill for no cause. They don't take ransom. They don't do anything. They just come in and displace people." He compared such attacks with what happened during the Owo church massacre. "Like what happened at Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo. They didn't take not even the handset or phone of anyone. They just came in and blasted the whole place with a grenade and all that and left," he said. SaharaReporters only on Tuesday reported that angry residents staged a protest, blocking the ever-busy Akure-Owo Expressway over incessant attacks, killings, and kidnappings allegedly carried out by suspected armed herdsmen in Ayede Ogbese community, Ondo State. SaharaReporters had gathered that the protest followed the killing of a farmer on Monday by suspected bandits. Eyewitnesses explained that as early as 6am on Tuesday, scores of youths, women and elderly residents trooped onto the highway, barricading the road with logs, causing a complete standstill of vehicles travelling between Akure and Owo. Motorists and commuters were stranded for hours as protesters insisted that they would not vacate the road until the government and security agencies address what they termed the worsening security situation in Ogbese and its environs. One of the protesters had lamented that armed Fulani herdsmen have allegedly been invading their farmlands and community, killing and abducting residents at will. Meanwhile, the June 2022 attack on the Catholic church killed dozens of worshippers and left at least 107 others injured, drawing widespread condemnation within and outside Nigeria. Nigeria's secret police, the Department of State Services, later announced that five suspects were arrested and are currently standing trial in connection with the attack. Meanwhile, Aiyedatiwa also praised the state's local security outfit, the Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun, describing it as a form of state policing. "The Amotekun corps is like a version of state police," he said, noting that the outfit has been effective in supporting conventional security agencies in tackling crime. In February 2026, an officer of Amotekun testified before the Federal High Court Abuja about his encounter with one of the suspects linked to the Owo attack. The witness, identified in court as SSG, an Assistant Commander with the corps, told the court that he and his team engaged one of the fleeing attackers in a gun battle shortly after the massacre. According to him, the encounter occurred after intelligence from eyewitnesses led security operatives to pursue the attackers through nearby bushes. SSG said he had initially been responding to a separate kidnapping incident in Shagari Village in Owo when he received a call from his commander instructing him to abort the mission because of the attack on the church. "When we got to the church premises, I saw spent AK-47 shells scattered on the ground," the witness told the court. "Inside the church, there were lifeless bodies of men, women and children, while several worshippers were injured." He added that the injured victims were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre Owo for treatment, while the bodies of the dead were taken to St. Louis Hospital. Source: https://saharareporters.com/2026/03/07/despite-weekly-attacks-governor-aiyedatiwa-claims-no-terrorist-attack-ondo-owo-church