Residents of Affa community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State have appealed to Governor Peter Mbah and security authorities for urgent intervention following a brazen attack by heavily armed kidnappers who stormed a Catholic church during worship on Sunday and abducted five persons, including a seminarian and a catechist.
The attack, which occurred despite heavy rainfall in the area, has thrown the community into fear and outrage, with residents lamenting that local youths were unable to rescue the victims because they were outgunned by the attackers.
According to community members, the assailants were about seven in number and were armed with AK-47 rifles when they invaded the church while worshippers were preparing for Mass.
The kidnappers reportedly seized a seminarian who had come to conduct the service, a catechist and three other worshippers before escaping into the surrounding bush.
Residents said the incident caused widespread panic as news of the abduction spread through the community, forcing many people to flee in confusion.
One of the distressed residents described the chaotic scene and the fear that gripped worshippers shortly before the service was to begin.
“It was raining at our place when we were preparing for church when suddenly some people ran to us and said that the seminarian who came to conduct Mass, our catechist and others had been taken away,” the resident said.
He explained that security personnel arrived shortly after the incident and requested information about the location of the attack.
“As we were running helter-skelter, police came and asked us where it happened, and we showed them,” he said.
According to the residents, some youths immediately organised themselves and pursued the kidnappers into the bush in an attempt to rescue the victims.
However, the pursuit was abandoned after the attackers allegedly opened fire on them.
“Those who came to inform us said the seven kidnappers were fully armed with AK-47 rifles,” the resident added.
“We have no weapons. Look at all our youths. Should we have pursued them empty-handed? We are willing to enter the bush and go after them, but with what weapon?”
Community members said the five abducted persons remain in captivity and appealed directly to Governor Mbah to deploy additional security personnel and provide effective protection for the area.
“There is no peace in our community; we live in fear, and now kidnappers come to church to kidnap us. We need help,” another resident said.
The residents insisted that local youths are prepared to confront the criminals if they receive adequate support from government and security agencies.
“We cannot go after kidnappers armed with AK-47 rifles without weapons,” one resident said.
“The government must come to our aid. Our seminarian, our catechist and three of our people are currently in the hands of kidnappers.”
They appealed personally to the governor, saying the community now feels abandoned and vulnerable.
“Governor Peter Mbah, please come and help us,” a resident pleaded.
“If we have guns, we can go after the kidnappers in the bush. We are ready to enter the bush and rescue our people.”
The residents said they conducted their own search operation within the limits of their ability but were forced to retreat because the kidnappers continued shooting at them.
“We searched within our limit without weapons, but they were shooting at us,” one of them said.
“What we have been hearing in other places has now happened in our own community.”
The community also condemned the audacity of the attackers, noting that places of worship are no longer being spared by criminal groups.
“They even came into the church to kidnap us,” a resident said.
“It is not fair. How can armed men enter a church and take people away while our youths are here and can do nothing because they have no weapons?”
The residents further complained that although security operatives are present in the area, they lack the capacity and equipment needed to confront heavily armed kidnappers.
“Our security operatives are here, but there are no arms, and we cannot go after kidnappers armed with AK-47 rifles empty-handed,” one resident said.
“Governor Peter Mbah, please do something for us.”
The latest attack has heightened concerns about the growing insecurity in parts of Enugu State and across the South-East, where communities have repeatedly reported attacks by armed kidnappers believed to be operating from forests and remote settlements despite ongoing security operations by federal and state authorities.
The incident has also renewed calls for stronger rural security measures, improved intelligence gathering and better protection for worship centres and farming communities that are increasingly vulnerable to criminal attacks.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to obtain an official response from the Enugu State Police Command were unsuccessful. Calls made to the mobile phone of the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, were not answered, and no statement had been issued regarding the attack or the whereabouts of the abducted victims.
