Attack on worshippers : We’ve Been Able to Save All Victims Brought in Alive, Says FMC
The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, Dr. Ahmed Liasu, has said the health institution received 39 victims of the gunmen attack on worshipers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo, in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Sunday.
Ahmed, who stated this while speaking with journalists at the FMC on Monday, added that the hospital has been able to save all the victims brought in alive.
While giving the details, he said: “39 victims were brought. We have 26 adults, 13 children. Out of that 26 adults, six of them were brought in dead, while two children were brought in dead.
“However, all those brought alive, we mobilized our people and we’ve been able to save them and we will continue to manage them. Also, four of them were operated and they are doing well.
“We must appreciate the effort of the state government and the people generally who have been coming to donate blood and we must understand that the directive of the federal government is that people should be treated free and that is what we have been doing,” Ahmed stated.
Efforts to get the total number of victims received at St. Louis Catholic Hospital, Owo, proved abortive as of the time of filling this report.
Meanwhile, victims of the attack have given accounts of how the church was attacked on Sunday.
They spoke at the Emergency Ward of FMC, Owo, where they are receiving treatment.
Okpara Arinze, who said he’s from Ebonyi State, added that the gunmen caught them unawares.
He said: “All I know about yesterday’s details is that I was in the church. So immediately the Rev Father was giving the last blessing, we heard a gunshot. So, everybody began to hide for his or her life. So I hid under the desk, unfortunately, the bullet hit my leg.”
Accordingly to Mrs Josephine Ojeloni, “I was in the middle of the church. We heard a gunshot. We all thought it was a toy, but we heard the gunshot again and people at the back started running, they were rushing. Then, they started killing them. I wanted to escape but I got no chance. What I did was laid down flat. The next thing I saw was dynamite, they threw it on my leg and my leg was ruined completely. But I still thank God, I’m alive today and I’m in the land of the living. It’s only a matter of time, it will stop, I will be able to walk with my leg.”
She thanked medical workers in the institution for their proactive steps.
Also, Mrs Oni Folakemi said gunshot was fired at her hand while she was on the floor.
“Before we could run for our safety, they had surrounded the whole building and had shut the doors. The gunshot was fired at my hand while I was down. They even thought I was dead; they killed the people that were beside me, my hand was badly damaged,” she added.
