THE two Catholic priests kidnapped on Christmas eve by unidentified gunmen at Umueze Anam, Anambra East Local Government of Anambra State are now free men after they were rescued by the police. Reverend fathers Peter Nwachukwu and Cajetan Apeh were abducted at Nneyi Umeri area of Anambra while returning from Onitsha on Monday evening.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Haruna Mohammed, who confirmed the release in a statement, said they were rescued on December 27 evening, 72 hours after their abduction. He said the rescue was made possible by men of the command working with sister security agencies. Mohammed added that the team deployed modern technology and aerial surveillance as a result of difficult terrain to track the hideout of the kidnappers.
“Police special teams comprising of FSARS, PMF, Counter Terrorism, Special Anti Cults units in conjunction with other sister agencies and the vigilance group had mounted an intensive search and rescue operations for the priests since the incident took place. “With the aid of modern technology and aerial surveillance due to difficult terrain, the abductors were forced to abandon their victims at about 6:45pm of 27/12/2018.
“The victims, Rev Fr Peter Nwachukwu, parish priest of St Theresa’s Parish Umueze-Anam and Rev Fr Cajetan Apeh who is the assistant parish priest are now in stable condition and have since reunited with their religious congregation.” “It is worthy to note that safety of the victims is the ultimate priority of the Police in this situation. Consequently, effort is being intensified to apprehend perpetrators of this heinous crime in order to bring them to justice.” The police spokesperson reassured Anambra residents of their safety during the yuletide and beyond. He further warned all criminal elements that the state was not a place to operate as they would surely meet their waterloo and be dealt with decisively in accordance with the law.