•Gunmen on mountain top
•The community derived its name from a mountain (Ugwu) and an Iroko tree (Ngwu); hence Ugwulangwu
Gunmen reportedly stormed a prayer session at a remote mountain site in the Egbola area, along Agbaja Road in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State and abducted an unspecified number of the worshipers.
The incident is said to have occurred on Friday during a night vigil on the mountain, reports Daily Trust.
A woman identified as Mary Adams Gure was said to have been rescued by men of the state vigilante services who got the wind of the incident and mobilised to the scene and confronted the gunmen in a gun duel.
According to the source, their attackers stormed the prayer ground, firing sporadically to instil fear before forcefully whisking the worshippers into the bush.
The rescued woman was said to have escaped amidst chaos.
“The vigilantes were mobilised quickly in response to the attack; and in the process, Gure was rescued. A search-and-rescue operation is ongoing to locate the remaining abducted faithful.
“Gure managed to escape and later found safety, thanks to the swift intervention of local vigilante members who were alerted and got to the scene of the incident on time,” the vigilante source said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP William Aya, did not respond to calls and messages sent to him on the incident.
