The Rivers State Police Command has announced the release of Reverend Father Maurice Livinus, a Catholic priest of the Port Harcourt Diocese, along with two other kidnap victims.

Their release followed intense pressure from a combined team of security operatives, including policemen, soldiers from the Joint Task Force (JTF) Isiokpo, and local vigilantes.

According to a statement by the Rivers State Police Command?s Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the victims were reunited with their families on February 16, 2025, to receive medical attention.

She added that efforts are underway to apprehend the culprits responsible for the kidnapping.

Rev. Livinus, the Parish Priest of St. Patrick?s Catholic Church, Isiokpo, was kidnapped along with two others on February 12, 2025, while returning from a hospital visitation along the Elele-Isiokpo road in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt had earlier issued a statement, signed by Reverend Father Bernadine Anaele, urging the faithful to Intensify prayers for the safe and unconditional release of Rev. Livinus and those with him. The diocese also reported the matter to security agencies.

The statement by Iringe-Koko read: ?Please be informed that today, 16th February 2025, at about 0630 hrs, information was received that the kidnapped victims, Rev. Maurice Livinus and others, have been released by their captors after pressure from the combined efforts of the security team comprising policemen, soldiers from the JTF Isiokpo, and the local vigilante.

The victims have been reunited with their families for medical attention, while efforts are ongoing to arrest the culprits.? (The Guardian)