Crime
BREAKING: 2 priests, others kidnapped as gunmen storm Kukah’s Church
Gunmen early Wednesday broke into one of the parishes presided over by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan-Kukah.
Our correspondent gathered that the armed hoodlums kidnapped two priests and two others in the rectory of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Gidan Maikambo, in the Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Kukah’s Sokoto Diocese covers Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi States.
The Director, Social Communications of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Fr Christopher Omotosho, confirmed the development with our correspondent on Wednesday morning.
He said the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto is under attack and no information has been gotten as to the whereabouts of the abductees.
Omotosho said, “As at midnight of today, 25th May, 2022, gunmen broke into the rectory of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Gidan Maikambo, Kafur LGA of Katsina State.
“The parish priest and his assistant Rev. Frs. Stephen Ojapa, MSP, and Oliver Okpara and two boys in the house were kidnapped.
“No information as to their whereabouts. Kindly pray for their safety and release.”
When contacted, the spokesman for Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, said, “Let me find out.”
On May 14, rampaging hoodlums torched and vandalised some parishes presided over by Kukah in Sokoto following his condemnation of the gruesome murder of Deborah Yakubu by her Muslim colleagues.
The 200-level Home Economics student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto was accused of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammed.
The rioters also burnt some parts of Kukah’s church buildings and set a bus ablaze on one of the premises.
The Sokoto religious-tainted riot has extended to some parts of Bauchi and Abuja in the last few days while security agents and some northern governors have warned against religious violence.
PUNCH
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The Violent Crime Response Unit of the Anambra State Police Command has uncovered and destroyed an armoury belonging to suspected separatist gunmen at Owerre-Ezukala in Orumba South Local Government Area.
The operation, led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Orebe Chidubem Matthew, followed intelligence obtained from a member of the gang currently in police custody.
In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the police disclosed that the camp had previously been dislodged by a Joint Task Force on security operations. However, some members of the gang who escaped during the earlier raid reportedly regrouped and attempted to resume operations.
According to the statement, items recovered from the armoury include one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with about 2,000 rounds of live chain ammunition, two fabricated rocket launchers with 25 propellers, 10 locally-made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), one locally-made Beretta pistol, two pump-action guns, three hand grenades, 10 rounds of K2 live ammunition, one gas cylinder, and one black Ecolac box.
“Recall that the camp was earlier destroyed by a Joint Security Team. Before the confession by the suspect in custody, intelligence had been received over time on how some escaped gang members were attempting to regroup. However, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit resisted and dismantled the camp following a gun duel with the unrepentant members,” the statement read.
The police further stated that some of the armed suspects fled the scene with varying degrees of bullet injuries sustained during the exchange of gunfire.
Further investigations revealed that the suspect in custody confessed to involvement in several violent attacks across Anambra State, including attacks on police facilities, the killing of security personnel comprising police, military, and civil defence officers, attacks on government facilities, and the murder of security operatives on stop-and-search duties on various roads in the state.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that with the establishment of the Violent Crime Response Unit, operatives of the command are now better positioned and more motivated to sustain offensive operations against criminal elements threatening the peace and security of the state.
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