Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Igbo Community Association (ICA) in the Federal Capital Territory has issued an urgent call on South-East governors to immediately establish and deploy armed forest guards across the region, warning that the recent attack on a Catholic church in Enugu State has crossed the "red line" and that the worsening security situation has become a matter of survival. In a statement made public on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, the apex body representing Igbo residents in the FCT described the invasion of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Inoyi, Affa community, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, where gunmen abducted worshippers during Sunday Mass on August 2, as an atrocity that cannot and will not be allowed to repeat itself. The association, led by its President-General, Nze Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, said the heinous act has made it clear that previous security arrangements in the region have collapsed, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable to attacks.
The Enugu church attack occurred on the morning of August 2, when heavily armed gunmen, said to be about seven in number and armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed the church at approximately 8:30 a.m. while parishioners were preparing for Mass despite heavy rainfall in the area. The assailants abducted a seminarian, a catechist, and another worshipper directly from the sanctuary, sending terrified congregants fleeing for their lives. The kidnappers later released the catechist but fled into the bush with the seminarian, identified as Lawrence Chidera Igbo, and the other worshipper, identified simply as Emmanuel. One of the victims had reportedly returned home to bury his late father before he was abducted during the church attack. The incident sparked widespread outrage, with local women taking to the streets in protest, weeping and calling on state authorities to end the rising tide of insecurity in the axis. A joint security team comprising police operatives, Forest Guards, and members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group launched a rescue operation and forced the kidnappers to abandon one victim, but two remain in captivity as of the time of this report.
In its statement, the ICA expressed deep regret that Nigeria had become increasingly unsafe for its ordinary citizens, noting that a dangerous tandem of marauding bandits, militant herdsmen, and extremist elements had made it perilous to operate freely in most rural and urban communities across the country. The association said the Enugu church attack served as the last straw, warning that the perpetrators had touched the tail of a sleeping lion and dared the great elephant. The group firmly rejected suggestions that the Igbo people were engaged in any farmer-herder clash with any ethnic group, insisting that they have historically coexisted peacefully with people of all ethnicities across Nigeria and were simply facing unprovoked aggression.
While commending the South-East governors for their performance in office thus far, the ICA said the time had come for decisive security action. The association strongly urged the governors to emulate the proactive measures taken by Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, by immediately establishing and deploying armed forest guards to secure the region's forests and flush out criminal elements operating in the area. The group insisted that the move to establish armed forest guards was not just necessary but a matter of survival, warning that the region cannot afford to wait for the bureaucratic implementation of state police to secure lives and properties. According to the ICA, previous non-state security arrangements, including the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the security outfit established by the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have collapsed or been abandoned, leaving a dangerous security vacuum in the region that must be legitimately and urgently filled by state governments.
The association also warned against another national embarrassment or tragedy like the Enugu church incident, insisting that establishing armed forest guards had become a matter of survival. It said from all indications, previous non-state security arrangements in the South-East had become ineffective, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable to attacks. The group said it does not need another national embarrassment or tragedy like the recent incident at the Catholic Church in Enugu State, and that the move to establish armed forest guards is not just necessary but a matter of survival. As the search for the abducted seminarian and worshipper continues, the ICA's call for urgent action has added significant weight to the growing demands for stronger security measures in the South-East, where communities have increasingly faced attacks from armed groups operating from the region's vast forests.
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