Among the victims of the attack in the church of Owo in Nigeria there are wounded in very serious conditions: they have already undergone emergency interventions and operations, but continue to lose blood due to the bullets. There are those who have been shot in the head, many in other dangerous places. A woman has a devastated belly. Some need to be operated on again ». It is the dramatic but lucid testimony of the nurse sister Agnes Adeluyi, who is working to save the lives of those faithful survivors of the Pentecost Sunday carnage.

In the state of Ondo was the day of the counting of the corpses of the Mass attacked by terrorists: The official budget of the local authorities stops at 21 murdered, but sources linked to the diocese assure that more than fifty people were murdered. This number can rise, because the tortured bodies have been transported to various morgues and among the wounded there are those who risk their lives.

There is no claim yet, but all eyes are on the Fulani Islamic nomadic shepherds and Boko Haram. The Nigerian Bishops' Conference urges the government to "intensify its efforts to hunt down the attackers of the church of San Francesco Saverio". The bishops warn that "otherwise the fall of the country into anarchy will accelerate".

Agnes, who belongs to the institute of the Sisters of St. Louis in Owo, also calls for greater protection and security. She is employed at the San Luigi hospital, where the faithful "torn apart at the hands of the killers" were welcomed. We reach her after numerous attempts, on her phone we hear her busy, in the background agitated voices and indefinite noises. She asks us to call her back because she can't stop talking at that moment. She talks about the difficulties with which they are helping patients in English: «There are only four doctors with us. We are in complicated conditions, under pressure. The government then sent three more doctors to strengthen our team a bit. We also assist some children, who are now better ”.

On Sunday Sister Adeluyi was in town, "in the chapel for Eucharistic adoration, when we heard two explosions". The nuns were informed of the massacre, and invited to flee "to Akure, to our general house. But we immediately headed to the hospital to help out".

In the hospital in general, you pay for the treatment, but given the exceptionally tragic conditions of these hours "it was decided that the costs will be borne by the structure". The hope is to receive financial support from the state: "We do not have electricity, we use generators", and the costs are "increasingly large".

Sister Agnes reflects on the future, when the emergency is over but the trauma will continue to hover and disturb the daily life of the people, who will have to live with the fear of being killed by death: "We must not give in to fear, we must look at life. And we Christians go back to church without too much anguish. But she - she reiterates - also needs the support of the rulers."

According to Fr Mussie Zerai, founder of the NGO Habeshia and expert on Nigeria, "this attack can be a way to foment conflicts between religions; or even a message to the Catholic Church, which is taking positions and making uncomfortable commitments in the fight against corruption; but I believe that the real great motive is always economic power, to be obtained through the strategy of terror which further weakens local politics." Zerai points out that «the southern area, where the massacre took place, is the richest, there are oil fields, natural resources and a thriving agriculture. That's why it's tempting criminal gangs".

Meanwhile, in the state of Kogi another priest has been kidnapped: Father Christopher Onotu.

In the Vatican, the Pope "prays for the conversion of those blinded by violence", so that they can "choose the path of peace". This was communicated by the cardinal secretary of state Pietro Parolin in a telegram to the diocese of Ondo.