Controversial Journalist Makes Remorseless Reference to Owo Church Attack in Justifying US Mass Shootings

Ololade Adeyanju/

Right leaning American TV correspondent and political activist, Jack Posobiec, famous for his pro-Donald Trump comments on Twitter, as well as using white supremacist and antisemitic symbols and talking points, has used last Sunday’s horrific attack on a church in Ondo State to justify mass shootings in the US, in the wake of calls for tougher gun laws.

The attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen, left over 50 worshippers, including many children, dead and several others injured. Latest reports suggest the number of casualties may have risen above 100.

Posobiec in a tweet, which reflected neither sympathy nor empathy for the pains of family and friends of the victims, tried to paint a parallel between the church attack in Nigeria and the frequent mass shootings that has killed hundreds of innocent Americans. The situation has prompted a widespread call for more stringent gun regulations, especially by left leaning politicians and citizens.

Posobiec’s tweet reads, “Gun ownership is strictly regulated in Nigeria.

“Last year the govt of Nigeria even passed tougher gun control measures

“Yesterday, 50 Catholics were gunned down in a terror attack at a mass on Pentecost Sunday.”

Several commentators have, however, faulted Posobiec’s attempt at equating the two events and accused him of trying to draw a false equivalence in order to justify a selfish agenda.

One commentator, @GbenroAdegbola, tweeted, in response to Posobiec, “Look for your justification for the ‘right’ to keep killing each other in mass shootings elsewhere. You don’t even know a thing about Nigerian realities.”

Another, @davidfatunmbi, wrote, “He’s a propagandist and one of those who don’t want gun control in America. The right-wing group he belongs to funds the NRA and they are the main reason gun control has failed so far in America.”

Posobiec’s tweet is coming amidst reports of deepening chasm between US congressional lawmakers over the gun issue.

According to a report by The Hill, democrats believe there should be “fewer guns in fewer hands,” for the sake of protecting the public from violent outbursts they consider preventable.

Republicans, however, are more likely to view gun rights as sacrosanct and any effort to restrict them as unconstitutional.

“Their answer to the latest massacre is not fewer guns but more of them, particularly in schools,’’ the report said.

The impasse has meant that thousands of mass shootings have taken place in recent years with virtually no legislative response from Congress.

“The stalemate has infuriated gun reform advocates, who are all but accusing Republicans of being complicit in murder for their rejection of tougher gun laws,” it added.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have already been more than 240 mass shootings this year in the United States.

At least 33 shootings have taken place since a rampage at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two teachers dead on May 24.

Just this past weekend, mass shootings in multiple cities killed 11 and wounded more than 60.

Mass shootings, where four or more people not including the shooter are injured or killed, have averaged more than one per day so far this year.

Not a single week in 2022 has passed without at least four mass shootings according to Gun Violence Archive.
Mass shootings have been on the rise in recent years.

In 2021, almost 700 such incidents occurred, a jump from 611 in 2020 and 417 in 2019.
Before that, incidents had not topped 400 annually since the Gun Violence Archive started tracking in 2014.

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