Residents of Ondo State on Wednesday barricaded the busy Akure/Owo Expressway in protest against the abduction of five worshippers at a church in the Owo Local Government Area.
The demonstrators blocked the highway for hours, leaving motorists stranded and demanding urgent intervention by security agencies over the rising spate of kidnappings in the area.
The police confirmed that the victims were abducted by gunmen who attacked a branch of the Celestial Church of Christ in Uso in the early hours of Wednesday.
Sources said the armed men stormed the church at about 1am while a service was ongoing, seized five worshippers and took them to an unknown destination.
The spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, said operatives moved swiftly after receiving the report of the incident.
He stated, “Upon receiving the report, operatives of the command, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and local vigilante groups, immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced coordinated rescue operations.”
Jimoh disclosed that security agencies had recorded some progress in the operation.
He said, “As a result of sustained joint efforts, one of the kidnapped victims has been successfully rescued. Additionally, one suspect linked to the incident has been arrested and has made useful statements that are assisting with ongoing investigations.”
He added that efforts were ongoing to secure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and arrest all perpetrators involved in the attack.
The development comes nearly four years after the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, which left 41 people dead and 140 others injured.
Operatives of the Department of State Services reportedly arrested a sixth suspect linked to that attack on Sunday and said five individuals were being prosecuted for allegedly carrying out acts of terrorism.
Security challenges in Ondo State and other parts of the South-West have continued to raise concerns among residents, particularly over increasing cases of kidnapping in recent months.
On January 26, residents of Ilu-Abo community in Akure North Local Government Area staged a peaceful protest over a surge in abductions, barricading the Airport–Owo Expressway after a middle-aged woman, Oladeinde Tomilola, was kidnapped at the entrance of her residence.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants shot at her vehicle, damaging its fuel tank and tyres before whisking her away.
Two neighbours who attempted to intervene were shot and rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, while a woman and her 11-year-old daughter reportedly sustained varying degrees of injuries during the incident.
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