Gunmen attack Catholic church, kidnap three people

Gunmen, believed to be kidnappers, attacked a Catholic Church in Enugu State and took a seminarian and two other worshippers. One of the victims was released shortly after the incident.

Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that the event happened on Sunday morning at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi, in Affa, Udi Local Government Area of the state.

The seminarian had gone to the church to lead Sunday worship with other worshippers when the attackers struck.

A local man, who only gave his name as Christopher, said that three people were taken, but the kidnappers only left with two, including the seminarian.

“The kidnappers initially took the seminarian, catechist, and another person in the church. But after a few minutes, they told the catechist to go back and then ran into the bush with the seminarian and the other worshipper,” Christopher explained.

According to interviews with residents, PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that the kidnapped seminarian is Lawrence Chidera Igbo. The other worshipper was identified only as Emmanuel.

A video recorded shortly after the abduction showed a man, who did not identify himself, explaining what he saw.

“Rain was falling while we prepared for church. Then we saw a crowd of people running towards us, saying that our seminarian and other worshippers had been taken from the church.

“While we were trying to figure out what to do, police officers arrived and asked where the kidnappers went. We showed them and joined them to search the bushes.

“There were seven kidnappers, all armed with AK-45. But we had to retreat because we had no weapons. Should we go after armed kidnappers with no guns?” the man said.

As he spoke, other residents agreed with him and expressed their wish to confront the kidnappers if they had weapons.

“We no longer feel safe in our community because of kidnappers. When we started searching the bushes, they fired shots at us and we ran since we had no guns,” another resident shared.

The community members have called on Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State to help them deal with frequent kidnappings.

“We have strong youths and even vigilante members, but they need support to work. We are begging Peter Mbah to assist us,” one resident pleaded.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately reach the police for a comment about the incident. Daniel Ndukwe, the police spokesman in Enugu, did not respond to calls or text messages from our reporter on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Ndukwe, a police superintendent, later issued a statement claiming that the third victim was freed after security operatives chased the kidnappers.

“The operatives, while closing in on the fleeing suspects, forced them to leave one victim behind, who was rescued unharmed. The attackers, however, escaped with the other two victims,” he stated.

He added that the joint security team included the police, the forest guard, and local vigilantes.

Mr Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Bitrus Giwa, has instructed the Area Commander, Oji-River, and the Head of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit to intensify efforts to track the kidnappers and rescue the victims.

The police spokesman also mentioned that Mr Giwa ordered the collection of useful intelligence to support the operation, while increasing the surveillance capabilities of the Enugu State Command-and-Control Centre to aid ongoing rescue efforts.

The police chief urged community members to stay calm and to keep providing the police with information that can help with the ongoing operations.

He assured them that all available resources were being used to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and to bring the attackers to justice.