Pastor abducted during service in Imo

The Agbaso clan was last Sunday jolted when news of the kidnap of one of their own and a Pentecostal pastor, Austen Agbaso, rented the air.
Vanguard investigations revealed that Agbaso, who runs his church at Umuekpu Agwa had finished his Sunday service and was midway into his usual deliverance and counseling when the near tragic drama started.

It was also gathered that a young lady, whose identity could not be ascertained at press time, approached Pastor Agbaso, requesting that she be delivered from undisclosed spiritual trauma.
A villager, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said: “Not long after the lady joined the lot waiting for deliverance and counselling, some armed gangsters stormed the church premises.
“On properly identifying their victim, the hoodlums seized and whisked the pastor away.
“The hoodlums started firing indiscriminately into the air to scare people from mounting any form of resistance.
“The firing rather attracted more people to the scene who gave the fleeing hoodlums a hot chase. This led to the capture of the lady that initially asked for deliverance and counselling.”
According to reports, the lady obviously missed her way and became the first member of the fleeing gang to be arrested.
Vanguard also gathered that the angry youths pounced on her and midway into her ordeal, she confessed that she was a friend to one of the hoodlums.
According to the villager, “she was given a telephone to call her boyfriend, a native of Umuomi, Agwa, and on arrival, the boy equally confirmed the lady’s claim.
“The youths were on the verge of dealing with the duo when security agents stormed the area.”
Another female villager that simply identified herself as Ngozi, told Vanguard that on being interrogated, the lady and her boyfriend reeled out the names of their accomplices said to be residing in Ogbaku and Orogwe.
Vanguard also gathered that there was exchange of fire between the security personnel and the hoodlums at Ogbaku and Orogwe before they were arrested by the police.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Pastor Austen Agbaso has remained unknown, while efforts to get comments from Agbaso family failed.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mrs. Joy Elemoko, confirmed the incident, promising to give Vanguard an update on the matter.
Vanguard