Gunmen in southern Nigeria kidnapped a prominent Christian woman and wife of the Attorney General of Delta State from a church Bible study in an attack that left her driver and a policeman dead.
Joan Onyemaechi, was abducted from the King Jesus and I Church in Asaba, capital of Delta state.
Onyemaechi was representative in the federal House of Representatives in 2015 and commissioner for Technical Education before her resignation earlier this year,
She is also married to state Attorney General Peter Mrakpor, who is also the state’s Commissioner of Justice.
Besides killing her driver and the policeman in the kidnapping, the gunmen also reportedly wounded another policeman and a civilian.
Church members said the gunmen stormed into the church building while members were holding a Bible study.
Her police security were killed before she was dragged into a car and driven off. The attack caused pandemonium as church members scattered amid the shooting.
Motives for the kidnapping were unclear, especially as her family reportedly has not received a demand for ransom from the assailants.
Nigeria was ranked No. 6 in the 2024 Open Doors World Watch List report of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.