Robbers on Wednesday morning invaded an Assemblies of God church in Abakaliki, raped one of the ladies, and shot another on her laps.

The youths, belonging to the drama wing of the church, were said to be having an all-night rehearsal in preparation for a drama programme slated for Friday when they were attacked by hoodlums.

The attack was said to have occurred between 1.00 am and 2.00 am.

A source said while they raped one of the girls, they shot another, who resisted attempts to have carnal knowledge of her, on the laps

They also reportedly stole some equipments belonging to the church.

Other youths in the same programme were said to have ran away during the incident.

When The Nation visited the church, the pastor- in- charge was not available but some elders confirmed the report.

“Yes what you heard is true, we were called this morning to be notified of the incident, however, we will not be able to give you all the details you require now”, said one of them who pleaded anonymity.

“Our pastor who is in charge of this place is not available now, he stayed awake all through the night that this thing happened and he is down now.”

“However the matter has been reported to the police and the girls have been taken to hospital for treatment,” he said.

The Nation Newspaper reports that Police spokesman, Loveth Odah, said she was yet to be briefed about the incident at the time of filling the report.