With the weekend’s demolition of the Cenotaph built by former Ondo State Governor, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, in honour of the victims of the deadly 2022 St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church massacre in Owo, headquarters of Owo Local Council of Ondo State, various stakeholders have been at loggerheads over the action of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

Chief Press Secretary to Akeredolu, Richard Olatunde, while describing the development as saddening, said that the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, was duly informed of the siting of the memorial park at the location, after which he gave his approval. Olatunde, who decried the action of Aiyedatiwa, emphasised that the move would reopen old wounds in the hearts of the victims’ families.

The monument was demolished with a bulldozer on the order of Aiyedatiwa, following complaints from the Olowo of Owo over the proximity of the Cenotaph to the palace, which he described as inappropriate in respect of the tradition of the ancient town.

However, Olatunde, while emphasising that the state government ought to have exercised caution in the demolition of the park, stressed that his late boss never played politics with the incident.

But countering the position of Olatunde, the Olowo of Owo stated that the late Akeredolu was advised against siting the cenotaph opposite the palace by the Olowo-in-Council.

The traditional ruler said that Aiyedatiwa only executed the complaint of the palace over the location of the memorial park, stressing that the governor should not be held responsible but that all attacks be directed at the palace.

Meanwhile, the widow of the late Akeredolu, who also berated Aiyedatiwa over the directive, described the move by the governor as insensitive as well as ‘desecration of sacred ground’.

Also reacting, the Spokesperson of the Ondo Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Austin Ikwu, said: “I have been receiving calls over the development. We are making moves already, but we have not been able to reach out to the governor or any representative of the government.”

“The parish priest in Owo, where the massacre took place, said that the place will be demolished, but of course, there was no dialogue or a roundtable discussion on that decision. So, that is why we want to seek an audience with the governor and to really know what is going on.”