Panic as gunmen abduct women leader in Imo church

There was panic in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Sunday, after gunmen stormed First Baptist Church situated on Wetheral Road, and abducted one of the women leaders, Biola Abeoye.

The victim is the wife of the General Manager of the Owerri Zoological Garden at Nekede.

One of the officials of the church, who does not want to be mentioned, told our correspondent that the daredevil suspects operated in with a Toyota vehicle.

According to him, the kidnappers waited till the church service came to an end before they struck.

He said that the manner the kidnappers operated showed that they came for the victim.

According to him, the suspects fired gunshots in the air, which pierced the walls of the church building, before they zoomed off with their victim.

He said “Some group of gun-wilding men operating in a camera Toyota vehicle came to our church premises and parked. At first we thought that they were security men, so we didn’t bother. They waited till the church service dismissed before they struck.

“They had somebody in their car who identified the woman before they forced her into their vehicle. They shot at our church building. It was so terrible. The woman is the wife of the General Manager of Imo Zoological Garden at Nekede. Her husband is out of the state. He travelled. We have reported the incident at the police station.”

The police spokesperson for the state, Micheal Abattam, had yet to respond to the incident.

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