There is panic over the fate of some clerics with the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Christ Apostolic Church who were reportedly abducted by gunmen at Odo-Eri community in the Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.
While the police authorities claimed to have intensified efforts to rescue the victims, who were kidnapped along with some family members, there have been no response from the affected church leadership.
It was gathered that the gunmen, who were close to 30 in number, stormed the community around 10pm on Wednesday.
They were said to be on motorcycles as they fired indiscrimninately to scare residents.
The hoodlums then proceeded to abduct the clerics, their wives, children and other residents.
Although the actual number of victims have not been confirmed, a source said that no fewer than 20 persons were taken away from the community.
The attackers were said to have fled via Abewo Road towards Kwara State.
Efforts to speak with the state Police Public Relations Officer, Afusat Saliu, on Saturday proved abortive as she was not reachable.
However, Saliu had earlier confirmed the incident to TVC News.
She said security operatives had been deployed in the area, with efforts ongoing to rescue the victims and apprehend the perpetrators.
When contacted, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the state, Apostle Olaniyan Adebayo, told Sunday PUNCH that the Department of State Services issued a security alert prompting precautionary measures across churches in some parts of the state.
Adebayo said, “The DSS called me and asked me to call the churches in those places based on the intelligence report they had. We alerted all the churches on Wednesday and Thursday concerning it. We sent messages to those churches through their coordinators in the local government.”
He noted that the early warning helped ensure that some church leaders and members were aware of the situation and took necessary precautions.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God declined comment when contacted
A senior official, who claimed not to be aware of the incident, said he had escalated it to the relevant authority.