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Gunmen abduct Catholic priest in Abia

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Gunmen on Wednesday abducted the Catholic Priest with the St. Theresa Parish in Umuahia, Abia, Rev. Fr. Godfrey Chimezie, and a lady in the state.

The victims were abducted in separate incidents in the early hours of the day.

The priest was abducted near the church along the Enyiukwu Road in Ohokobe Afaraukwu while the lady was picked at a petrol station on Aba Road in the state capital.

An eyewitness told journalists the priest was returning to his parish after attending morning Mass at St. Gabriel Catholic Church at Okpururie Afaraukwu, when the bandits waylaid him.

He said: “The kidnappers forced him out of his Toyota Corolla car and bundled him into their SUV jeep and escaped.”

A senior priest in Umuahia Catholic Diocese confirmed the abduction of the priest.

But the spokesman of the state police command, Godfrey Ogbonna, said the church has not reported the incident to the police.

READ ALSO: Gunmen attack again in Abia, raze down NDLEA office

He, however, confirmed the abduction of the lady, saying she was taken away after purchasing fuel from the fuel station.

Ogbonna said: “We were informed that the woman was double-crossed as she was driving out of the filling station and driven away by the hoodlums.

“It is still not clear yet if the two incidents were carried out by the same gang.”

He, therefore, advised the church authorities to make a formal report on the kidnap of the priest at any police station around the scene of the incident.

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