Gunmen invade Enugu Catholic Church, abduct seminarian, worshipper during Sunday Mass

Suspected gunmen on Sunday reportedly invaded St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi, Affa, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, abducting a seminarian and a worshipper during a church service.

The attack was disclosed in a Facebook post by social media influencer Sen Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, who alleged that the armed men stormed the church while Mass was in progress and kidnapped a seminarian who had come to celebrate the service, alongside a catechist and another worshipper.

According to Ugwuanyi, the abductors later released the catechist but took the seminarian and the other victim into captivity.

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He said the incident threw the community into panic, with local youths immediately launching a search operation in nearby bushes in an effort to rescue the victims. However, he noted that the search was being carried out cautiously because the kidnappers were reportedly heavily armed.

“The whole village is thrown into a frenzy as the search continues,” Ugwuanyi wrote, urging the government and security agencies to intensify efforts to curb the growing wave of insecurity in the area.

In a separate Facebook post, another user shared a video purportedly from the scene, claiming that kidnappers had attacked St. Joseph Catholic Church in Inoyi, Affa, and appealed to the Enugu State Government to urgently intervene and secure the release of the abducted victims.

As of the time of filing this report, the Enugu State Police Command had not issued an official statement confirming or reacting to the reported attack.

The circumstances surrounding the incident therefore remain based on eyewitness and social media accounts pending official confirmation.