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NSUKKA, ENUGU STATE — Fresh concerns over the worsening security situation in Enugu State have emerged following a series of coordinated attacks by suspected armed kidnappers that left at least two persons dead and several others abducted in separate incidents across Nsukka and Udi Local Government Areas.
The attacks, which occurred between Friday and Sunday, have heightened fears among residents as the assailants reportedly extended their operations beyond major highways into rural communities and places of worship.
According to eyewitness accounts, the first attack occurred on Friday, July 31, when heavily armed men, reportedly dressed in military uniforms, established a roadblock along the Ugbogogo–Opi–Nsukka Road between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., intercepting motorists and commuters.
Sources said the gunmen abducted four travellers before leaving the highway and advancing into Ibagwa Opi Autonomous Community in the Ogbozarra Opi Ancient Kingdom of Nsukka Local Government Area.
Residents disclosed that the attackers invaded the community, abducted additional victims and fatally shot two persons during the operation.
As of the time of filing this report, those kidnapped during Friday’s attack were still being held by their captors, with no official information available on their whereabouts or condition.
The latest incidents have intensified anxiety among residents, who say the tactics employed by the armed groups represent a dangerous shift in the region’s security landscape.
A community source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, lamented that the attackers are no longer restricting their activities to highways.
“Our greatest concern now is that they no longer operate only on the roads. They are now entering our villages and communities to kidnap and kill innocent people. This has created widespread fear among residents,” the source said.
In another incident that further underscored the growing insecurity, suspected gunmen reportedly stormed a church in Affar Community in Udi Local Government Area during a worship service on Sunday, August 2.
Witnesses said the attackers disrupted the service before abducting a seminarian and several worshippers, leaving the congregation in panic.
The incident has sparked renewed concerns over the vulnerability of religious institutions and rural communities to violent criminal attacks.
Community leaders and residents have called on the Enugu State Government, security agencies and other relevant authorities to intensify intelligence gathering, strengthen security patrols and deploy additional personnel to vulnerable communities.
They urged the authorities to take decisive measures to rescue those in captivity, apprehend the perpetrators and restore public confidence in the security of lives and property across the state.
The latest attacks add to growing concerns over rising incidents of kidnapping and violent crimes in parts of the South-East, where residents have repeatedly appealed for more proactive security measures to curb the activities of armed criminal groups.
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