A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Christian Ike, has been kidnapped by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
Rev. Fr. Ike was kidnapped last Sunday, June 16, at Amagu Junction, Ndiokpalaeke, near Ajalli in the Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra state.
Although the cause for his kidnapping has yet to be determined, eyewitnesses in the neighbourhood say the priest was returning from St. Michael’s Catholic Church, where he and two others had attended an early morning Mass, when the kidnappers double-crossed the vehicle he was in.
According to the source, “On getting to Amagu Junction, their vehicle was double-crossed by armed men operating in three vehicles, but the two others who were inside the same vehicle with Fr. Ike barely managed to escape the scene, while the criminals took away the priest and some personal belongings of the escaped occupants in the vehicle.”
The Anambra State police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the incident, informed reporters on the phone that the command had learned about it and had dispatched intelligence and operational assets to ensure his safe rescue.
Ikenga said, “Anambra State k Command received the information of the abduction of Rev. Father Christian Ike and has deployed its intelligence and operational assets for possible rescue unhurt.
“To this end, the Command has activated its intelligence and operational assets for possible arrest of the assailants and rescue unhurt of the priest, and further development shall be communicated as it unfolds.”
