There is palpable fear over the fate of some clerics of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Christ Apostolic Church reportedly abducted by gunmen at Odo-Eri community in the Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The police claimed to have intensified efforts to rescue the pastors, who were kidnapped with some family members.
However, there have been no response from the affected church leadership.
It was gathered that the gunmen, numbering about 30, stormed the community around 10.00pm on Wednesday.
They were said to be on motorcycles as they fired indiscrimninately to scare residents before abducting the clerics, their wives, children and other residents.
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.
However, Saliu had earlier confirmed the incident to TVC News.
She said security operatives had been deployed to the area, with efforts ongoing to rescue the victims and apprehend the perpetrators.
Speaking on the incident, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the state, Apostle Olaniyan Adebayo, said that the Department of State Services had issued a security alert prompting precautionary measures across churches in some parts of the state.
“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,” Adebayo said.
He noted that the early warning helped ensure that some church leaders and members were aware of the situation and took necessary precautions.
