No fewer than five guests returning from a traditional wedding ceremony in Anambra were on Monday night abducted by suspected gunmen.

DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, Police Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in Anambra, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Tuesday in Awka.

Ikenga said that security personnel had launched a rescue operation to ensure that the victims were safely reunited with their families unhurt.

A reliable source had told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the guests were kidnapped at about 10.00 p.m. on their way home.

“The guests (names withheld) were kidnapped at gunpoint at about 10.00 p.m. on the Akpo – Nkpologwu road in Aguata Local Area of Anambra.

“About 15 of the guest were returning to the hotel from Achina, the venue of the marriage, in a convoy of three vehicles when they ran into the abductors, but only the first car was able to escape.

“The gunmen asked all the ladies to go and took five of the men away after shooting into the air,” the source explained.

The source added that the abductors were yet to make any contact with the victims’ families.