Owo Massacre: Here’s what we know about the victims

A few minutes before the end of Mass on Sunday, June 5, 2022, gunmen went on a killing rampage at the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owaluwa, in Owo local government area of Ondo State.

Dozens, including children, teenagers and the elderly, were killed in the attack that sparked outrage across Nigeria.

A survivor, Stephanie Ajibo, said the gunmen were “on a mask, loaded with Ak 47”.

“We were inside the church when they started shooting from the outside. People at the back started running towards the altar. Some jumped fence, our priest escaped through the sacristy with the help of our catechist,” Ajibo wrote on Facebook.

A resident in the area told Neusroom on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, that four gunmen invaded the church.

“Before the attack, they had hijacked a car at the front of the church, which became their getaway car after wreaking havoc on worshippers,” he said. “A man who sells candy at the gate was the first person they shot before entering the church to shoot other worshippers.”

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu confirmed that 40 people were killed in the attack. The Catholic Diocese of Ondo also announced that five children, two teenagers and 31 adults died in the attack.

At the time a funeral Mass was held for the victims at the Mydas Hotel in Owo on Friday, June 17, 2022, no suspect had been arrested.

It’s been 14 days since the attack, which came exactly a year after unknown gunmen attacked Igangan Community in Oyo state on June 5, 2021, killing many residents and burning houses.

Here’s what we know about some of the victims:

Caroline Agboola

Caroline Agboola, a 68-year-old widow, was an ‘Akara’ seller in front of the church.

A source told Neusroom that she was very popular around the area and loved by the community. Others described Caroline as a good listener.

Dr Adesina Ajanaku and Lady Dr Olabimpe Ajanaku

Dr Adesina Ajanaku, a Catholic Knight and the Chairman of the Catholic Men Organisation, and his wife, Lady Dr Olabimpe Susanah, were among those murdered by gunmen at the St Francis Catholic church.

Their daughter, Laide Ajanaku, described the couple as religious and Catholic devotees who “never missed mass.”

Dr Ajanaku, an Ile-Ife Prince and former school principal, was also former Chairman of the Owo Branch of the Great Ife Alumni Association.

A statement by his alma mater – St. John’s Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (SJOBA) of Ile-Ife, Osun State, said, “Ajanaku, who served as an ‘Altar Boy’ at the weekly holy Mass celebrated in the school hall, imbibed all the teachings of our late founder and was nicknamed ‘Father John’ for his piety and dedication to the service of God.

“He did not depart from his holy ways as he became a Catholic Church leader as a Knight of Saint Mulumba in 2017.”

Chukwudiorinya Onuoha, 60 and Deborah Onuoha, 54

Owo Massacre Victim

Chukwudiorinya Onuoha and his wife Deborah Onuoha were also at the church on Sunday, June 5, to worship where they were attacked.

Chukwudiorinya Onuoha, 60, was a gardener at a Nigerian University, while his wife was a petty trader.

Umunna Friday Okafor

Umunna Okafor, an electronics dealer in Owo, and his son Chisom were killed in the attack.

Although reports say he was 37, information on his Facebook page states otherwise. According to his Facebook profile, he was born November 10, 1987, and would have been 35 this year.

Okafor was said to have used his body to shield his son, but the bullet penetrated Okafor, killing his son too. Okafor’s body was discovered lying over his son after the attack.

Virginus Ani and Chidiogo Ani

Virginus Ani and his daughter, Chidiogo Ani, also died in the attack.

Ani from Umuohagwu Obie Aku in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu state lived in Owo with his family.

His younger sister Uju-Nwa Amadi Ani described him as a caring brother.

“Who will I call again for advice, a brother that cared so much for his siblings,” Uju-Nwa Amadi Ani, his heartbroken younger sister, wrote in a tribute.

Onileke Esther Ilerioluwa

A graduate of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, in Ekiti State.

In a Facebook post, Daniel Onileke, one of her family members, described Onileke as a ‘respectful and industrious woman’.

Onileke’s Facebook bio read, “I attended St James Primary school, Akoko. Secondary School was in Owo, New Church Grammar School. Institution – College of education Ikere Ekiti, studying English/Yoruba.”

Ayo John Monogbe

Ayo Monogbe, a Police Officer, was one of the victims of the Owo Massacre.

According to family sources and information on his Facebook page, Monogbe was from Irele in the southern part of Ondo state.

“My Cousin, Ayo Monogbe, one of his children and his sister’s child were killed in Owo Catholic Church today,” Akinbo Akinloose wrote on Facebook on June 5.

His family also lost Omolola Monogbe in the attack.

Chijioke Onah, 34

34-year-old Chijioke Onah from Iheakpu Awka in Igbo-Eze South Local government Area of Enugu state was a victim of the Pentecost Sunday attack.

“It’s a very big loss. Three months ago, we were together in my cousin’s burial now is your own,” Ifeoma Patience wrote on Facebook in her tribute to Chijioke.

Chijioke’s friends said his Enugu State community was thrown into mourning over his death.

His family said he will be buried at his residence in Enugu State on June 24, 2022.

Anthony Ojapah

Anthony Ojapah was one of the young men killed in the attack.

A family friend said his death came a few days after another family member, Fr Stephen Ojapah, a Priest in the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, was kidnapped by gunmen in Katsina, on May 25.

“My friend Fr Stephen Ojapah MSP: Fr Stephen and Fr Oliver Okpara with two boys working with them who were kidnapped on the 25th of May are yet to be released. It is now 23 painful days without hearing from them. I feel so broken every single day,” Fr. Kelvin Ugwu, a Catholic Priest on Mission in Malawi, wrote on Facebook on Friday, June 17. “A relative of Fr Stephen Ojapah was among those killed in Owo massacre and buried today. A young boy whom ASUU kept at home only for him to meet his death in the church that Pentecost Sunday.”

Obruche Augustine Kurumale

Obruche Augustine, from Delta state, graduated from Kwara State Polytechnic in Ilorin, Kwara State.

In a video shared on Facebook, Roseline Ifelere, his classmate at Kwara State Polytechnic, described Obruche’s death as painful.

“I felt so pained when I woke up this morning and saw my schoolmate’s obituary among the victims of the Owo attack,” she said.

Oluchi Eva

38-year-old Oluchi Eva, from Ezza-Mpu in Aninri local government area of Enugu state, was a petty trader in Owo before she was killed in the attack.

Eva is survived by three children – Precious, Joy and Lucky.

A video by her three children narrating their ordeal since their mother’s death went viral on the internet after the funeral Mass on Friday, June 17.

In the video seen by Neusroom, the eldest child Precious Eva said they lost their father on December 12, 2016, and “since our mother’s death (in the Owo Massacre), there is nothing for us; we have become orphans”.

They escaped the attack because they were not in the church with their mother on June 5.

Eva’s family has fixed her burial for June 24 in Enugu State.

Mary Sunday, 40

40-year-old Rosemary Ewan Sunday was buried at her hometown in Idumeka, Igueben local government area of Edo State, after the funeral Mass in Owo on Friday.

“I still remember the time we shared together, especially the impact and the stress you went through during my late dad’s burial in May, which is last month. Your death is sudden,” a family member Festus Olatunji wrote in a Facebook tribute.

Fabian Nweke

Fabian, described by his friends as a promising and intelligent young man, graduated from Christ the King College, Onueke, Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, in 2018.

Iduma Benjamin, one his classmates, in a tribute, said Fabian was jovial and accommodating, and his “intellectual quotient was unprecedented.”

His elder brother, Ifeanyi Nweke, who sustained injuries during the attack, said, “my younger brother couldn’t make it alive after being shot during the recent catholic church massacre.”

“My heart is bleeding, Emy. I thought you made it too when lying on the floor very close to me that day. Never knew you are no more until the doctor pronounced you dead. Until now, I’m still in shock,” Isaiah Ifesinachi Agatha one of the survivors, wrote on Facebook.

Some of his classmates at CKC, in several Facebook posts seen by Neusroom, described Fabian’s death as ‘traumatic’.