Sunday’s attack on a Catholic Church in the Nigerian town of Owo killed 22 people and injured 50, an official said on Tuesday, as the local hospital started to run short of supplies needed to treat survivors.
Benedict Ogbu, 53, who lost his wife, Theresa Ogbu, in an attack by gunmen on worshippers during a Sunday mass service, looks at photographs of his wife, during an interview with Reuters in his home in Owo, Ondo, Nigeria, June 7, 2022. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja 
A view of St. Francis Catholic Church where worshippers were attacked by gunmen during Sunday mass service, is pictured in Owo, Ondo, Nigeria June 6, 2022. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja
Unknown assailants attacked the congregation at St Francis Catholic Church with guns and explosives during a mass to celebrate the Christian holiday of Pentecost, leaving a scene of carnage behind them as they escaped.
Authorities have given no information about the identity or motive of the attackers.
Media reports initially said more than 50 people were killed. Authorities had released no casualty figures until an official from the National Emergency Management Agency spoke on Tuesday.
Inside the church, streaks of blood on the floors and walls, broken furniture, shards of glass, plaster debris and abandoned personal items testified to the violence of the attack.
At the town hospital, some survivors and their relatives said they were having to source bandages and other supplies from private pharmacies as the hospital was running out – a common problem in underfunded Nigerian public hospitals.
The crutches, we bought them from outside, they don’t have them here, said Benjamin Asogwa, who suffered a knee injury during the attack.
A group of employees of the national power company pooled resources to buy bandages, disposable syringes and gloves, as well as cans of soft drinks, to deliver to the hospital.
We brought some little refreshment for the medical team, said Michael Barnabas, one of the donors.
EVILS OF TERRORISM
Police said on Monday they had recovered unexploded bombs as well as casings from bullets used in AK-47 assault rifles.
