Gunmen in the early hours of Sunday abducted a Catholic priest in Imo State.
Our correspondent gathered that the priest, Rev. Prof. Izu Marcell Onyeocha, was abducted around 7:00 am at Ihube Community in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State along Enugu -Port Harcourt Express Road.
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The victim said to be a lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities at the Imo State University, is a native of Avuru Community in Ikeduru Local Government Area.
He was said to have been travelling back to Owerri from Enugu to when the incident happened.
According to a eyewitness, the cleric was driving when the gunmen forced him to stop by shooting sporadically into the air
It is not clear if the priest was alone in the car, but an eyewitness said that the villagers heard some sporadic shooting and later confirmed the identity of the victim with his cassock and identity card.
Imo police spokesperson Orlando Ikeokwu, could not be reached for comments.
The incident is coming less than four months after the the Auxiliary Bishop of Owerri, Bishop Moses Chikwe, was abducted.
Just last Wednesday, a traditional ruler of Umueze autonomous community in Nguru, Aboh Mbaise Mbaise Local Government Area, Eze Charles Iroegbu, was kidnapped alongside five members of his cabinet and two palace guards.
They were released on Friday.
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