The Parish Priest of St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo local government in Ondo State, Rev. Fr. Vincent Anadi, has denied social media reports that some victims of the June 5th terrorists’ attack on the church have been abandoned.
Fr. Anadi also urged the public to disregard the contents of the social media reports saying it was mischievous and aimed at maligning the Government and the Church.
Four armed men had stormed the church and killed 40 persons while over 60 others suffered various degrees of injuries.
A narrator on a viral video had shown one of the victims, Miss Jumoke Oladele, lying down and claimed she was lying helpless and could not speak because she suffered serious injuries during the attack.
The narrator claimed Miss Oladele and her family were abandoned to fend for her needs without help from the state government, the Church or Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, the Olowo of Owo Kingdom.
According to the narrator, the Olowo had received N75m donation but only distributed N20,000 to the victims.
But Fr. Anadi, in a press statement, said the Church’s investigations indicated that Miss Oladele was one of the first victims to be discharged from the hospital.
Fr. Anadi stated that Miss Oladele claimed to be unaware of the existence of the video until some days ago when a member of her family brought it to her notice.
Anadi added that a woman who poised as the mother of Oladele in the video was an impostor who was paid to play the role.
He said Miss Oladele claimed she was woken up from sleep on the day of the recording which explained why she was silent in the video.
According to the statement, “All victims received varying degrees of assistance and financial support from the Church and the Government.
“The church provided caskets through the diocese except for those who had other preferences and each of the families of the deceased received financial support for funeral arrangements. The cost of drugs were also taken care of and non of the victims paid out of pocket for medical attention as soon as the Church got involved.
“Asides from following up with victims on their treatment, several financial support has also been given to them (directly or redirected from the diocese, the Olowo or the Government), therefore no one can claim they have been abandoned either by the Church, the Government or other stakeholders.
“We still have victims in the hospital being attended to at UCH Ibadan, Unimed Teaching hospital Akure,St. Louis Hospital Owo and Federal Medical Centre Owo all under the care of the Government and the Church with the support of stakeholders.
“As for those who wish to profit from the suffering of others; we urge you to have a rethink and learn to use social media for good.”
