Gunmen on Sunday abducted three worshippers inside a church in Inoyi, Affa Community, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, but one of the victims was rescued by security operatives.
The Enugu State Police Command said a joint security team comprising police operatives, forest guards, and members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group pursued the assailants and forced them to abandon one of the victims unhurt.
State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said the operatives were closing in on the fleeing suspects when they abandoned one victim and escaped with the remaining two.
“The joint security team has intensified operations and is on the trail of the armed men,” Ndukwe said.
He added that efforts are ongoing to rescue the two other abducted worshippers and apprehend the suspects.
According to him, the Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, has directed the Area Commander, Oji-River, and the Head of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) to further intensify ongoing operations and deploy all available operational assets to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and the apprehension of the suspects.
He also directed the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Intelligence Department (SID) to immediately generate actionable human and technical intelligence in support of the operation, while activating the surveillance and technical capabilities of the Enugu State Command-and-Control Centre to bolster the ongoing rescue efforts.
