The assailants, who are yet to be identified, invaded St. Martin’s Catholic Church, Ihiala, Anambra State, before entering the church premises, where they tied up the security men.
Although the details of the incident were still sketchy, our correspondent said the incident happened late Thursday.
There have been a series of clashes between the church authorities and some concerned citizens of the community.
No motive has emerged as to why the gunmen carried out their mission, but witnesses said the gunmen, suspected to be members of the Anambra Vigilante Group, were led to the church premises by two Reverend Fathers, one of whom was a parish priest. of a new parish recently established by the Bishop of Nnewi Diocese.
The witness said: “The armed men, who were wearing black clothes and covered their faces, tied up the security men guarding the church and took away their phones.”
The parish priest of the Church who was contacted, Rev. Fr Val Eze, confirmed the incident, stating that the man occupied the church premises until Thursday night.
He, however, said that the invaders did not approach the priest’s residence.
The state Police spokesperson DSP Tochukwu Ikenga could not be reached for his reaction as calls and messages to his phone went unanswered.
Details later…
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