Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Sunday invaded St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi, in Affa, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, abducting a seminarian and two worshippers during a church service.
One of the victims was, however, rescued shortly after the incident following a swift response by security operatives.
According to reports, the seminarian had entered the church to conduct the Sunday worship alongside other congregants when the armed assailants stormed the premises and whisked away three persons.
A resident of the community, who identified himself simply as Christopher, said the attackers initially abducted three people but later released one victim, leaving with the seminarian and another worshipper.
The spokesperson for the Enugu State Police Command, Superintendent Daniel Ndukwe in a statement issued later on Sunday confirmed the attack and disclosed that one of the abducted victims had been rescued unhurt after a joint security team pursued the fleeing kidnappers.
“The operatives, while closing in on the fleeing suspects, forced them to abandon one of the victims, who was immediately rescued unhurt. The assailants, however, escaped with the remaining two victims,” the police spokesperson said.
He explained that the rescue operation involved a joint team comprising police operatives, forest guards and members of the neighbourhood watch group in the community.
Ndukwe added that the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Bitrus Giwa, had directed the Area Commander in Oji-River and the Head of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit to intensify ongoing operations to track down the kidnappers and secure the release of the remaining victims.
According to him, the police commissioner also ordered the immediate generation of actionable human and technical intelligence, while activating the surveillance and technical capabilities of the Enugu State Command-and-Control Centre to strengthen the rescue operation.
The police urged residents to remain calm and continue providing useful information that could assist security agencies in rescuing the victims and apprehending the perpetrators.
