Gunmen storm Enugu Catholic Church after presidency’s clash with Cardinal Onaiyekan, abduct Seminarian

• Gunmen invaded St Joseph Catholic Church in Enugu and abducted a seminarian and worshippers.

• The attack came after Cardinal John Onaiyekan criticised President Bola Tinubu’s response to bishops’ concerns about insecurity.

• Police and local security teams have launched an operation to rescue the remaining abductees.

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers invaded a Catholic church in Enugu State on Sunday, abducting a seminarian and two worshippers in an attack that has renewed public concern about insecurity in Nigeria.

The incident occurred at St Joseph Catholic Church in Inoyi, Affa community, Udi Local Government Area, as worshippers gathered for Sunday Mass on August 2, 2026.

According to witnesses, the armed men entered the church during the morning service and seized three people: seminarian Lawrence Chidera Igbo, the church catechist and another worshipper identified simply as Emmanuel.

The attackers reportedly moved towards a nearby bush with their captives before a joint security team began trailing them.

Enugu State Police Command spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Daniel Ndukwe, said the operation involved police officers, forest guards and members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group.

As security personnel closed in, the gunmen abandoned one of the victims, who was rescued without injury. They, however, escaped with the seminarian and the other worshipper.

A video circulating on social media, which appears to have been recorded shortly after the attack, captured residents describing the chaos that unfolded after news of the abduction spread through the community.

In the footage, a man who said he witnessed the incident but did not identify himself claimed that the attack happened as worshippers gathered for Mass amid rainfall.

"Rain was falling while we prepared for church. What we saw was that a crowd of people ran towards us, saying that our seminarian and other worshippers had been abducted from the church," he said.

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The man said residents joined police officers in searching nearby bushes after directing them to the route allegedly taken by the kidnappers.

"The kidnappers were seven and all had AK-47 rifles. But we retreated because we had no weapons. Should we pursue armed kidnappers empty-handed?" he said.

Other residents heard in the video echoed his account, saying they initially tried to pursue the gunmen but abandoned the effort after coming under gunfire.

"We no longer feel safe in our community because of kidnappers. When we began combing the bushes, they were firing shots at us and we ran because we had no guns," another resident said.

"We have able-bodied youths and even vigilante members, but they need to be equipped to work. We are begging Peter Mbah to help us," one resident appealed.

Commissioner of Police Mamman Bitrus Giwa subsequently ordered the Oji River Area Commander and the head of the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit to intensify efforts to rescue the remaining victims and arrest the attackers.

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The timing of the Enugu Catholic church attack has attracted wider attention because it came shortly after a public disagreement between the Presidency and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja.

Onaiyekan was part of a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria delegation that met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on July 28.

The delegation, led by the conference president, Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, presented concerns about insecurity, poverty, economic hardship, education and the state of Nigeria’s democracy.

Speaking during an Arise Television interview days later, Onaiyekan said the President disagreed with the bishops’ assessment and maintained that the country was making progress.

“When the nation is bleeding, you cannot expect a polite meeting with the head of state,” the cardinal said. “We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine.”

His comments drew a sharp response from presidential aides.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Temitope Ajayi accused Onaiyekan of improperly disclosing details of a private meeting, describing it as an “abuse of clerical privilege".

Ajayi argued that the bishops’ assessment represented one perspective and said Tinubu had responded to their concerns with evidence of economic, social and security improvements.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication Daniel Bwala also accused the cardinal of allowing politics to shape his intervention.

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The church attack has since brought the bishops’ security warning back into the national conversation. Some social media users described the timing as a grim illustration of the insecurity the clerics had raised with the President.

However, there is no evidence connecting the Presidency’s disagreement with Onaiyekan to the attack. The two events are linked only by timing and the wider public debate they have generated.

For residents of Affa, the immediate concern remains the safe return of the abducted seminarian and worshipper as security agencies continue their search.