Gunmen Kidnap Popular Catholic Priest In Southeast

Gunmen have kidnapped popular Catholic Priest in southeast.

NewsOne Nigeria reports that unknown gunmen on Sunday morning, April 11, 2021, kidnapped a Catholic priest in Imo State, southeast Nigeria.

This online news understands that the popular Catholic Priest identified as 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.

It was learned that the popular Catholic Priest, who is a lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities at the Imo State University, is a native of Avuru Community in Ikeduru council area.

The victim, was said to have been on transit from Enugu to Owerri, the Imo state capital, when the incident happened.

According to a resident of Okigwe town, the popular Catholic Priest was driving when the gunmen accosted him.

The gunmen were said to have shot sporadically into the air to force the popular Catholic Priest to stop.

Meanwhile, 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”.