▪️The memorial park was built by the administration of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, in honour of the 41 lives lost in the terror attack on worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa Street, Owo, on June 5, 2022
▪️The site was legitimately acquired and developed by the State Government and publicly designated as a Memorial Park for honouring the victims of the terror attack.
▪️No bodies or corpses are buried at the memorial park. The park was constructed to celebrate the lives and memories of the departed souls. Not a single body was interred there.
▪️Construction of the park began in March 2023 and was completed by June 2023. During this period, no objection or protest was raised from any quarter.
▪️Arakunrin Akeredolu chose that location because of its proximity to St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owaluwa; the site of the horrific attack.
▪️Governor Akeredolu did not unilaterally impose the location of the Memorial Park. Extensive consultations were made.
▪️ Before the construction started, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, convened a meeting with the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, his chiefs, and political appointees from Owo, where he outlined his vision for the park. He explicitly stated that no corpses would be buried there and sought the Olowo’s approval. He also offered an alternative: if the Olowo was not comfortable with the proposed location, the park could be relocated to Ijebu-Owo or other areas in the town. The Olowo and his chiefs agreed to the chosen site.
▪️Beyond engraving the names of the victims and the survivors at the park, the Akeredolu-led administration also had the intension of siting a museum and other facilities around the area, not only to be a centre of attraction, but to be a place where those people that lost their lives will be remembered for life.
▪️The sole vision of Arakunrin Akeredolu for the park was to immortalise the victims of the horrific attack, to ensure that their names and the pain of that day would never be erased from our memory, and nothing else.
