The state’s governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, has started building a memorial park in honor of the attack victims nine months after terrorists stormed a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo State.
The devastating attack at St. Francis Catholic Church resulted in the deaths of 41 persons and the injury of numerous more in varying degrees. Yet, following the incident, nobody has been detained.
On Saturday, the governor remarked, during an inspection visit to the building site, that the memorial park will be breathtaking when finished.
He said his administration was determined not to forget the souls that have departed as a result of the incident , noting that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who had visited Owo to commiserate with the state and the people after the incident, would be invited to inaugurate the project when completed.
Akeredolu said, ”The architect who designed this place, Architect Femi Bello, the Odopetu of Akure Kingdom, I want to thank him very well because he showed interest in this project. His interest is beyond normal, so I thank you.
“By the time we finish this memorial park, it will be a beauty to behold and it is going to measure up to any memorial park anywhere because the architect, has taken his time to do so many good work here. It is for us to just wait and see it.
“Come rain, come sunshine, this project must be completed before the end of May. When this incident (attack) happened, our president-elect was here. I know that by the time we tell him we have this memorial park for him to come and inaugurate it, I think it will be a joy to him. That will be just a week after his inauguration, I pray he will come so that he can see this memorial park.
“For us, we are determined not to forget the souls that have departed. They were 41 in number. And others that are still nursing the wounds, although they have gone back to their homes, they have been discharged, some of them are outpatients.
“As you know, we also have a lady whose two legs were amputated. The government has provided for her necessary prosthesis that she can use. I’m told that she has been able to use it. Her rehabilitation is moving on well, and we are sure that she will still live a normal life. That is what I believe, she will live a normal life. So, for us, it is just a way of remembering those 41 souls that died.”
In his remarks, the state commissioner for infrastructure, land and housing, Raimi Aminu commended Akeredolu for not forgetting the departed souls, expressing assurance that the befitting memorial park will be completed before the end of May this year.
“Government has decided to site, at this location befitting Memorial Park in remembrance of those departed souls. It is going to be a befitting one, well drawn, and which can compete with others throughout the world,” he said
Aminu added that apart from that, government also has intension of siting so many things like museum and other things around this area. So, this is going to be a centre of attraction after completion, and it will beautify the city, and at the same time, those people who lost their lives will be remembered for life.
All things being equal, by God’s grace, this project will be completed before the end of May 2023, Aminu assured.
Discussion about this post