40 dead in church attack in Nigeria

The number of people killed in an attack on a church in southwestern Nigeria has risen to 40, Ondo state governor Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu said.

The incident took place on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sixty-one others wounded in the brutal attack are being treated in local hospitals, the Governor told the media in Owo, the town where the St. Francis Catholic Church is located, on Wednesday.

Akeredolu added that 26 have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.

"Those are the figures we have now," the Governor said, adding that a memorial park will be built to bury those died in the attack.

The state government also set up a bank account for donations to help the families of the victims and the survivors, he said.

On Monday, Akeredolu declared a seven-day mourning and ordered that flags be flown at half-mast in all public buildings in honour of the victims.

In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the heinous killing of worshippers.