By Ovat Abeng
Rev. Fr. Lawrence Nwankwo, Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra state, has celebrated his survival of a 44 minutes ordeal in the hands of gunmen operating in the state.
Rev. Fr. Nwankwo, invited friends and locals recently to join him in a Thanksgiving Mass conducted by His Eminence, Peter Ebere Cardinal Okpaleke, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia, in his Igweakpu village, Ndiowu in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, on Wednesday.
Narrating his ordeal and survival by God’s grace in the hands of the gunmen at Ekwulobia roundabout on July 9, 2025, he told Newsmen that the incident lasted from 7:30am to 8:14am, while on his way to Awka, the state capital.
“I was heading to Awka. The traffic light was red and I stopped waiting for it to turn green. But before this happened, there were gun shots in all directions.
“I saw people shooting from the Nanka road coming towards the roundabout. I saw a lady lying on the road divider on the way towards Isuofia. I guessed that she was hit by the bullet.
“And there were gun shots from the route to Oko, so I exited the car and re-entered because I just drive off from Aguata direction, and the way it happened I wasn’t sure that running back would be safe.
“I was there in the car, in the passenger’s side behind the driver’s seat, then the door of the car was opened, and then one of them with wig and a hood ordered me to come down, to handover the key of the vehicle and to enter the trunk. So I did all that. He then started the vehicle, marched on the breaks and said, ‘we will go with this!’ He left the engine running with the driver’s door open, probably for easy escape.
“So that was where I was, utterly helpless, but painfully aware of a possible ordeal in a kidnapper’s den. The gunmen were shooting continuously. From time to time, I heard calls for ‘another magazine!’ maybe by those who needed to reload their guns.”
Suddenly, Fr Nwankwo continued, he heard a shout, “who is that coming?” “At that point, there was not only an increase in the number and intensity of gunshots but also the sound made by the guns was different. I also heard a command: ‘don’t shoot from behind!’ It was after the ordeal that I learnt that the Joint Intervention Force arrived and dislodged the gunmen.
Meanwhile, Fr. Nwankwo was still in the trunk. He recalled that he remained surprised by his calmness and presence of mind in such a situation. For example, when a bullet struck his toe, he took note of the time – 7.48am.
“Having commended myself into God’s hands, I was there waiting, not knowing whether, when and where another bullet might strike.
Thanks be to God that no other bullet hit me. I am sure that God intervened and saved me.
“The vehicle sustained 19 bullet hits. Indeed, it was not simply riddled with bullets, but it was systematically shot at to neutralize any potential threat. Even the spare tyre beneath the trunk where I was lying was struck by bullets. The passengers’ seat where I hide myself before being ordered to the trunk by one of the gunmen was scattered by bullets.
It was clear that God used this gunman to get me to a safe part of the vehicle and even in the trunk, God still provided an extra protection. Imagine that in the 44 minutes ordeal, and despite my total body surface, I was struck only on the toe – not even the big toe but the middle toe – the least of the places to affect someone adversely. So, for me, God allowed this as a mark of remembrance – so that I do not forget his wonderous work that day. I am sure that if I had not sustained any wound, this story would sound like something made-up.
“God lined up people through whom God saved me. God used the young man who ordered me to the trunk to take me to a safe place. God also used the men of the Joint Intervention Force who gallantly fought and dislodged the gunmen. If they had not arrived at the time they did, my ordeal might have lasted longer in the kidnappers’ den with the untold trauma to colleagues, friends and family. God came out strong and delivered me.
Asked how he came out of the trunk of the vehicle, Fr Nwankwo responded that at a point the gunshots died down. After a while, he heard voices. These drew closer. He started seeing people’s heads. Then he raised his head, tapped on the window of the trunk and a young boy noticed and opened for him. He scampered out, picked his phone and gave his colleagues the good news that he was still alive.
Indeed, they had been calling him non-stop since being informed that he was in danger. The phone registered the time of the call – 8.14am. That was how he fixed the duration of the ordeal – from 7.30 – 8.14 am.
He said he went to St. Patrick’s Mission Hospital Ekwulobia, where the affected toe was amputated.
“So, in the Thanksgiving to God, we invited friends and the community to come and rejoice with us, thanking God for saving my life,” he stated.
