Gunmen on Sunday invaded St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi, in Affa, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, abducting a seminarian and a worshipper during a church service, sparking panic among residents and worshippers.
The incident was first reported by social media influencer Sen Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, who disclosed in a Facebook post that the attackers stormed the church during Mass and initially abducted a seminarian, a catechist and another worshipper. He, however, said the catechist was later released while the seminarian and the other victim remained in captivity.
According to Ugwuanyi, local youths immediately launched a search operation in nearby bushes but were forced to proceed cautiously because the kidnappers were allegedly heavily armed.
“The whole village is thrown into frenzy as the search continues,” he wrote, while urging the government to intensify efforts to address the growing insecurity in the area.
In a separate Facebook post, another user shared a video purportedly recorded at the scene, alleging that the gunmen attacked St. Joseph Catholic Church in Inoyi, Affa, and appealed to the Enugu State Government to take urgent steps to secure the release of the victims and improve security in the community.
As of the time of filing this report, the Enugu State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident, while efforts to independently verify the details of the attack were ongoing.
