Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Imo

By Tobi Adetunji

Unidentified Gunmen on Sunday morning abducted a Catholic priest in Imo State.

The Priest, Rev. Prof. Izu Marcell Onyeocha, was said to have been abducted around 7:00 a.m at Ihube Community in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State along Enugu -Port Harcourt Express Road.

The victim, who is also a  lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities at the Imo State University, is a native of Avuru Community in Ikeduru council area.

He was said to have been on transit from Enugu to Owerri when the incident happened.

According to a source of Okigwe town, the cleric was driving when the gunmen accosted him.

The gunmen were said to have shot sporadically into the air to force him to stop.

It was not clear if the cleric drove alone but a resident said: “The kidnappers shot sporadically in the air to scare away other road users at the scene of the operation. They drove the cleric in his car at the scene of the incident.”

Efforts to confirm the incident from Imo police Spokesperson Orlando Ikeokwu at the time of filling this report was abortive.