Ondo State police spokesperson Funmilayo Ibukun Odunlami, reported that, the gunmen shot people both outside and inside the church building, killing and injuring worshipers.
She added that investigations to find the perpetrators and cause of the St Francis Catholic Church attack was underway.
According to Ondo state Governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who visited the scene of the attack and injured persons in hospital, the incident on Sunday, June 5 is “a great massacre” that should never happen again.
Moreover, the identity and motive of the attackers was not immediately clear.
Catholic Church spokesman in Nigeria, Reverend Augustine Ikwu reported the bishop and priests from the parish had survived the attack unharmed.
Furthermore, Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack, calling it “heinous”, whereas the Vatican said Pope Francis was praying for the victims who had been painfully stricken in a moment of celebration.
Likewise, Nigeria has been battling an Islamist insurgency in its Northeastern part with armed gangs who carrying out attacks and kidnappings for ransom, mostly in the Northwest.
However, such attacks are very rare in the southwestern parts of the country.