Catholic church attackers disguised as worshippers – Police

The Nigeria Police say gunmen who killed more than 30 people at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, in Ondo state, had disguised themselves as worshippers.

The BBC quoted a police source as saying  the attackers detonated explosives inside the building, while others outside opened fire.

It still isn’t clear why they carried out the assault in the south-western town of Owo.

Police are also yet to announce an official number of deaths.

The UN in Nigeria said it “strongly condemns the brutal attacks on worshippers”, according to a statement by the UN secretary general’s spokesman on behalf of the UN’s Resident Coordinator for Nigeria, Mattias Schmale.

Mr Schmale appealed for calm and called for the attack perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The attack overshadowed a meeting of Nigeria’s governing party, which has begun the process of choosing a candidate for next year’s presidential election.

Governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu, vowed to hunt down the attackers in his statement issued after the incident.