The Rivers State Police Command has indicated its determination to apprehend the abductors of the host pastor of Light Intercessors Church, Oyigbo, Pastor Kingsley Anosike, after he and three other ministers abducted in the Oyigbo in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State regained their freedom on Wednesday night.
The three ministers were said to be attached to a guest speaker, Bishop Moses Uzodinma, who was attending a programme.
In her confirmation of the release of the pastor and the three ministers on Thursday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, told our correspondent that an investigation was ongoing to apprehend the gunmen.
“I can confirm the release of the pastor and others who were kidnapped. But an investigation is ongoing to ensure that we apprehend those behind the kidnap to make them face justice,” she stated.
PUNCH Metro gathered that gunmen dressed in military camouflage on Friday night invaded a new generation church located in Oyigbo, shot sporadically and whisked away the clerics to an unknown destination.
The shooting was said to have lasted for 20 minutes with the worshippers scampering for safety.
A member of the church who pleaded anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter told our correspondent that the abductors released them on Wednesday.
He stated, “The Pastor and the three ministers who came with the Bishop were all released the same time at a location.”
Asked if any ransom was paid before they were allowed to breathe the air of freedom, he said, “I don’t know and I don’t have that information.”
The source however said the target of the gunmen was one Bishop Uzodinma, the Presiding Pastor of Endtime Fire Intercessory Ministries, who was the guest minister at the church programme.
He said the gunmen shot directly at the Bishop, who was preaching at the time of their arrival but he was unhurt and escaped to their astonishment.
Angry with the development, the gunmen, he said, kidnapped the host pastor, Anosike and three ministers in the entourage of their main target.
He also said that one of the church workers was hit by a bullet in his leg and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The abductors, he said, later demanded an N100m ransom, though it could not be ascertained if any ransom was paid before they were released.
