LOCAL YOUTHS MOBILIZE IN AFFA COMMUNITY TO SEARCH FORESTS FOLLOWING CHURCH KIDNAPPING

Tension remains high across the Affa community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State as brave local youths mobilized to comb surrounding forests and bushes in search of parishioners abducted during a morning service at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi.

​Following the violent intrusion by armed assailants—who whisked away a seminarian and worshippers—frustrated residents and youth groups moved to take immediate local action. Local search parties immediately mobilized to track the abductors into surrounding forest corridors along the Udi border axis.

​However, community representatives noted that local searchers have had to proceed with extreme caution, as the fleeing criminal gang is heavily armed, while community members and local vigilantes lack equivalent defense equipment. Villagers continue to express outrage over what they describe as insufficient defense infrastructure in rural agrarian communities, demanding urgent state support and proper equipment for local protection groups.

​Meanwhile, official statements from the Enugu State Police Command indicate that state security forces are actively pursuing the abductors. According to Command Spokesperson SP Daniel Ndukwe, a joint team of police operatives, Forest Guards, and Neighbourhood Watch personnel initiated a pursuit that forced the suspects to abandon one victim unhurt, while operations continue to safely track down and rescue the remaining captives.

​Community members and local activists maintain that youth-led surveillance and community vigilance remain critical to safeguarding rural settlements, urging state authorities to bolster frontline security assets to permanently dismantle kidnappers' hideouts in the area.