A joint security team, including the police, military, NSCDC, and local vigilantes, successfully rescued Catholic priest Rev. Fr. Stephen Echezona, who was abducted by gunmen at a petrol station in Ichida, Anaocha Local Government Area.
Rev. Echezona, the Parish Priest of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Ichida and the Chaplain of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Awka Diocese, was kidnapped on the evening of Saturday, March 22, 2025, while purchasing fuel at the station.
The spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the rescue in a statement on Sunday, March 23. He revealed that the suspected kidnappers, operating in a white Lexus SUV without a plate number, abducted the priest using his own vehicle after abandoning theirs during a gunfight with security forces who responded to the attack.
“In the early hours of today, March 23, 2025, a joint security team consisting of the Police, Military, Civil Defence, and local vigilantes from Ichida and Ihiala successfully secured the release of Rev. Fr. Stephen Echezona in Ihiala. The priest was unharmed,” the statement read.
The assailants, after being confronted by superior firepower from the security team, abandoned their Lexus SUV and fled with the priest. The security forces later recovered the vehicle.
Following a coordinated chase, various security checkpoints and operatives in the state were alerted, which led the criminals to abandon the priest in Ihiala and escape into nearby bushes.
The joint security team has since taken control of the area in Ihiala, with plans for further pursuit of the armed criminals and recovery of Rev. Echezona’s Toyota Highlander.
“Further updates will be communicated,” the statement concluded.
