March 7, 2026 | SUNTV Global Channel
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has insisted that the state has not recorded any terrorist attack since the deadly assault on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in June 2022.
The governor made the statement during a media chat on Friday while addressing concerns about the security situation in the state.
According to Aiyedatiwa, although cases of kidnapping for ransom still occur in some communities, they should not be classified as terrorist attacks.
“Terrorist operation has not happened after the Owo massacre. We’ve not experienced any terrorist attack,” the governor said.
He explained that recent incidents reported across parts of the state were isolated criminal acts rather than organised banditry or terrorism.
“We have isolated cases of kidnapping for ransom. Security agencies are actively engaging to ensure victims are rescued and the perpetrators are tracked and brought to justice,” he added.
The governor also dismissed reports linking recent killings in communities such as Agamo to bandit groups, describing the incidents as separate criminal activities.
According to him, true bandit attacks often involve widespread destruction and indiscriminate killings, unlike kidnapping cases where perpetrators seek ransom.
He compared such incidents with the 2022 attack on the Catholic church in Owo, where gunmen reportedly stormed the church during service, detonated explosives, and opened fire on worshippers.
“They didn’t even take a phone from anyone. They simply attacked and left destruction behind,” he said.
However, concerns over security remain high among residents. Earlier this week, angry youths and residents staged a protest along the busy Akure–Owo Expressway, blocking the highway to draw attention to repeated attacks and kidnappings in the Ayede Ogbese area.
The protest followed the killing of a farmer by suspected armed bandits, an incident that reportedly triggered widespread outrage within the community.
Eyewitnesses said protesters barricaded the road with logs as early as 6 a.m., leaving commuters stranded for hours while demanding urgent intervention from government and security agencies.
Some residents accused suspected armed herdsmen of invading farmlands, attacking villagers and abducting people for ransom.
The June 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo remains one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in Nigeria in recent years. The attack left dozens of worshippers dead and over 100 others injured.
Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services, later confirmed the arrest of five suspects who are currently standing trial over their alleged involvement in the attack.
Governor Aiyedatiwa also praised the state’s security outfit, Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun, describing it as a model of state policing.
“The Amotekun corps is like a version of state police,” he said, noting that the outfit has played a key role in supporting conventional security agencies in tackling crime across the state.
Meanwhile, during a recent court hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja, an Amotekun officer testified about engaging one of the suspects linked to the Owo attack in a gun battle shortly after the incident.
The officer told the court that security operatives discovered several spent AK-47 shells scattered around the church premises, while bodies of victims lay inside the building as injured worshippers were rushed to hospital for treatment.
SUNTV Global Channel will continue to monitor developments surrounding security in Ondo State and across Nigeria.
