Gunmen with explosives stormed a Catholic church and opened fire in southwest Nigeria yesterday, killing ‘many’ worshippers and wounding others, the government and police said. The violence at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo town erupted during the morning service in a rare attack in the southwest of Nigeria, where jihadists and criminal gangs operate in other parts of the country. Pope Francis said in a statement he had learned of the ‘death of dozens of faithful’, many children, during the celebration of the Christian holiday of the Pentecost. ‘While the details of the incident are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and for the country,’ he added. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
