The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed fears that the Sunday terror attack at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State was orchestrated to trigger tension to derail the 2023 general election.

PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of emboldening the terrorists by refusing to confront them “despite being aware of their plans as exposed by the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai at the wake of recent terrorist attacks on Kaduna State.”

The party said President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in the primary purpose of government, which is to provide security and welfare for its citizens.

“This president has completely abdicated his duties, become numb to daily reports of killings, abductions and kidnappings by terrorists and remained absent when our nation needed him most.

“We hope that the APC has not again contracted these outlaws to unleash terror on Nigerians so as to trigger tension and derail the 2023 general elections,” PDP stated.

According to the party, the attack on St. Francis Church appeared to be a part in the series of apparently organised assaults by terrorists, and expressed shock that terrorists could “invaded the church, opened fire on worshippers, freely used explosives within the premises, murdered our compatriots in cold blood and left unchallenged.

“It is now obvious that the APC administration is deliberately surrendering the sovereignty of a large portion of the territory of our nation to terrorists, who are now expanding their reign of terror and territorial occupation in our country.

“Our party calls out the APC to come clean on the pact it has with terrorists, for which it continues to look away as these outlaws mercilessly ravage our nation, massacre Nigerians and take many citizens captive.

“It is disheartening and traumatic to witness gory pictures and videos of children and the elderly murdered in cold blood by terrorists with President Buhari and his apologists playing dumb to these happening by deodorizing terrorists as bandits,” the PDP said. (New Telegraph)

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