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Police on Friday said it has launch manhunt as some yet-to-be-identified gunmen kidnapped an Anambra-based priest of the Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Basil Gbuzuo.
Gbuzuo, a Catholic priest of the Units Archdiocese, was said to have been kidnapped on Wednesday, at about 8 am along the Eke Nkpor-Obosi Bypass, while on a journey.
The development came barely one month after he was listed in a publication as one of top 10 richest Catholic priests in Nigeria.
A statement issued on Thursday by the Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, Rev. Fr. Prudentius Aroh, revealed that the abductors had not established any contact with anybody regarding the priest.
The statement read, “His Grace, Most Rev. Valerian M. Okeke, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha, invites all Christ’s faithful and all men and women of goodwill to earnestly pray for the quick and safe release of the priest as we intensify our efforts to ensure his freedom.
“We commit our brother, Fr. Basil, to the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, for his speedy release from the hands of his kidnappers.”
The state police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement, adding that “investigation is on-going to arrest the culprits.”
He said, “The Anambra State Police Command has launched a manhunt for the abductors and possible rescue of Reverend Fr. Basil Chukwuemeka, which sad incident occurred at Nkpor Junction, Onitsha.
“The command is already working with some eyewitnesses of the incident in the ongoing operation
