Mararaba, Nasarawa State – The Mararaba community, a border town of Abuja in Nasarawa State, has been overtaken by a feeling of fear and uncertainty following the attack of the residence of the pastor, in the wee hours of Monday morning, by suspected kidnappers. Gunmen invaded the house of Pastor Austin Ifeji, who is a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

The attackers, who have not yet been named, attacked Pastor Ifeji’s home with deadly precision. Eyewitness accounts reported that the assailants invaded the house and attacked the pastor immediately, macheteing him time and time again. Pastor Ifeji was lucky enough to survive what would have been an assassination.

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But the trials of the family were far from over. As the pastor’s wife was being taken away, his son, in a display of courage and filial piety, moved forward to protect his mother. Alas, his bravery was met with lethal violence. The shooters disdainfully gunned down the young man, ending his life in a senseless display of disrespect for human life.

The savagery did not end there. Eye witnesses report that the aggressors proceeded to administer more machete stab wounds to the traumatized son, salt the wound so to speak, in the presence of his traumatized siblings. Following this despicable act, the attackers abducted Pastor Ifeji’s wife, disappearing into the night and leaving the family shattered and grieving.

One of the neighbors, who spoke to GistNexus on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, broke down on the gruesome aftermath of the attack. The source revealed that the kidnappers have since contacted the family, demanding a ransom of N30 million for the release of Pastor Ifeji’s wife. At the time of this report, the status of the kidnapped woman remains unknown, and there has been no word of her release or safety.

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The premature death of Pastor Ifeji’s son has left the community stunned to the core, with outrage and demands for immediate action from the law enforcing agencies. The young man, who was his parents’ only son and brother to four sisters, is being hailed as a hero who died attempting to save his mother.

“He didn’t like how they were handling his mother roughly,” a source in the family told GistNexus, “He confronted the kidnappers, and they shot him.”

The attack has also raised concerns about the security environment in Mararaba and its surroundings. The citizens are living in fear, asking whether their security agencies have the capacity to protect them from increasingly audacious acts of violence and kidnappings. The breach of Pastor Ifeji’s home is just the most recent in a series of incidents that have kept communities on tenterhooks.

To further add to confusion and tension, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Nasarawa State, SP Rahman Nansel, indicated that the command has no information regarding the incident. This assertion has been greeted with skepticism and outrage by residents questioning the effectiveness of the police in gathering intelligence and responding to criminal activity.

Police ignorance denial is particularly suspicious given the intensity of the attack and where the attack took place, namely a populated area of the city. The denial is argued by opponents to be indicative of a systemic problem of underreporting and transparency about the security matters by the state.

GistNexus has attempted on a number of occasions to reach the Nasarawa State Police Command for additional information and reaction to the issue, but so far, there has been no reply.

The break-in into Pastor Ifeji’s house and the kidnap of his wife are symptomatic of the growing shadow of violence and kidnap in Nasarawa State. People are calling for urgent and serious action by the state government and law enforcement agencies to address the security situation and apprehend the culprits behind this odious crime.

While the country continues to struggle with fear and mourning, Pastor Ifeji’s wife has her destiny waiting in store for her. This developing story will be updated as more information emerges.

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