Gunmen snatch two Ogun church workers, six from Katsina, eight Bayelsa passengers

Some gunmen on Monday invaded the Celestial Church of Christ, Oshofa, Wasimi, in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.
They abducted the Assistant Shepherd (assistant pastor) of the parish, Oluwaseun Ajose, and a Sunday school teacher, Dagunro Ayobami.
The PUNCH reports that the victims were taken away from the church to an unidentified location.
An eyewitness, Oluwajesse Sunmade, said the gunmen wore masks and fez caps.
He said, “Around 11.40pm, four masked men with caps on their heads came towards the church; two of them were holding guns, one was with a cutlass, and the other was with a big stick. They told me to keep quiet.
“They asked me where Daddy (church shepherd) was, but I did not reply them. Two persons sitting by my sides wanted to tell them where the shepherd was, but I told them not to say anything.
“They threatened to shoot one of the persons with me if he did not tell them where the shepherd was. The other person, a pregnant woman, tried to run, but I advised her against it.
“While she tried to come back, she hit her head on the cross at the entrance. It was the noise that woke up the assistant shepherd, who was sleeping in the church and also alerted the Sunday school teacher in the other room.
“The assistant shepherd asked who they were. The Sunday school teacher also came out to see what was happening, but the one with a stick beat them up and dragged them out of the church.
“They also wanted to take me and the pregnant woman along with them, but the pregnant woman told them that she was ill and couldn’t walk; they left her alone and I managed to escape.”
The founder of the church, Prophet Oluwatomisin Olugbebi, who spoke to The PUNCH on the telephone, said, “When my assistant called me almost two hours after they left, the kidnappers initially refused to speak with me, but on his third attempt, they spoke with me and requested N50m as ransom.”
The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, Lanre Bankole, said efforts were on to rescue the abducted persons.
In another development, the Katsina State Police Command on Tuesday said terrorists who struck in the early hours of the day in the state capital abducted six people.
The incident occurred around 4am at Unguwan Shola, a community directly behind the former Federal Medical Centre.
Residents disclosed that the gunmen, who stormed the community on motorcycles, were armed with sophisticated weapons.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The gunmen went from house to house, demanding money, phones, food items, and other valuables.
The spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, SP Gambo Isah, while confirming the incident, said, “The DPO reported that on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, around 4am, he got a report that terrorists numbering 12 on motorbikes, armed with AK-47 rifles, invaded Shola Quarters, on the outskirts of the city and abducted six members of the community.
He identified those abducted as Tanimu Adamu, Abdullahi Isiya, Isiya Rabiu, Ibrahim Adamu, Mannir Jayi and a woman whose name was not disclosed.
He said Jayi escaped from the gunmen and was assisting the police in their investigation.
In a related development, gunmen suspected to be pirates attacked a commercial speedboat and kidnapped eight passengers onboard in Bayelsa State.
It was gathered that the abducted passengers were among 15 others travelling from Brass to Yenagoa when the speedboat was ambushed by the sea robbers on Monday.
The unit chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria in the Brass Local Government Area, Daniel Biodoumoye, confirmed the incident.
Biodoumoye said, “They (the pirates) intercepted the 200-horsepower engine boat close to a rice farm and fled with eight of the 15 passengers.”
The spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, said seven passengers were kidnapped by the bandits, adding that investigation had started.